Rights, Liberties, the contradiction of Liberalism and Justice of Islam

The contradiction of Liberalism 

It is crucial for us to understand this quote from the English Philosopher Jeremy Bentham who is regarded as the father of Utilitarianism: “All rights are made at the expence of liberty”. 

Are there rights in a liberal society? Yes. Does this mean certain actions are thus restricted? Yes. Is therefore freedom curtailed? Yes. 

Of course, every society is like this. Every society restricts the complete freedom for one to act however one chooses. 

And these rights, or conversely, restrictions, are determined by that society’s conception of the good. 

Criteria of Good & Bad depends on values of a society. In Islamic societies it is Objective morality based on unchanging God's laws. 

In other modern societies it's subjective & ever-changing man-made laws based on imperfect human understanding & whims. 

So in Islamic system, liberties of people are

curtailed by universal God's rules  which are based on God's wisdom & equal for all; whereas in other systems, other humans (even if elected) who can never be totally impartial, have the power to curtail people's liberties. Which is better and more Just for humanity?

Harms of consumerism and the Islamic solution:

Consumerism is the practice of buying goods and services in excess of what is needed. It is often driven by advertising and marketing, which can create a sense of need for products that are not actually necessary. Consumerism can have a number of negative consequences, including:

Environmental damage: The production and consumption of goods and services can have a significant impact on the environment. For example, the production of consumer electronics often involves the use of hazardous materials, and the disposal of these materials can pollute the environment.

Economic inequality: Consumerism can lead to economic inequality, as the wealthy are able to consume more goods and services than the poor. This can create a sense of resentment and dissatisfaction among the poor, and it can also lead to social unrest.

Mental health problems: Consumerism can lead to mental health problems, such as anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. This is because consumerism can create a sense of pressure to constantly consume new products, and it can also lead to feelings of inadequacy if people are unable to keep up with the latest trends.

Addiction: Consumerism can lead to addiction, as people may become dependent on the feeling of buying new things. This can lead to financial problems, as well as social and psychological problems.

Islam provides a number of solutions to the issue of consumerism. These include:

* Teaching the importance of moderation and contentment. Islam teaches that Muslims should strive for moderation in all aspects of their lives, including consumption. Moderation is the key to happiness and people should be content with what they have. The Qur'an says, "And be moderate in your spending" (25:67). “So hold that which I have given you and be of the grateful.” (Qur'an 7: I44) 

* Encouraging charity and giving. Islam teaches that Muslims should give to charity and help those in need. This helps to reduce the desire to consume more and more, as it reminds Muslims that there are others who are less fortunate.  Charity is one of the most important acts of worship. The Qur'an says, "Those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah and do not follow up their gifts with reminders or injury - their reward is with their Lord, and no fear shall come upon them, nor shall they grieve." (Qur'an 2:262)

* Prohibiting waste and extravagance. Islam prohibits waste and extravagance. The Qur'an says, "And do not waste by extravagance. Indeed, the wasteful are the brothers of the devils, and ever has Satan been to his Lord ungrateful." (Qur'an 17:26,27) These verses highlight the importance of avoiding extravagant and wasteful expenditures. The act of wastefulness is likened to being in alignment with the devil, while ingratitude towards God is attributed to Satan. 

* Promoting a culture of simplicity and contentment. Islam promotes a culture of simplicity and teaches that people should not be attached to material possessions. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “Renounce the worldly life and Allah will love you. Renounce what people possess and people will love you.” (Ibn Majah)

* Providing a spiritual framework: Islam provides a spiritual framework for life that helps to give meaning and purpose to people's lives. This can help to reduce the need for people to seek fulfillment through material possessions. For example, the Quran says, "And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me." (Quran 51:56)


There are a number of things that can be done at a personal level to reduce the harms of consumerism. These include:

Be mindful of your spending: It is important to be mindful of your spending and to only buy things that you actually need.

Avoid impulse purchases: Impulse purchases are often made without careful consideration, and they can lead to financial problems.

Be critical of advertising: Advertising is often designed to create a sense of need for products that are not actually necessary. Be critical of advertising and do not let it influence your spending habits.

Teach your children about consumerism: It is important to teach your children about the harms of consumerism and to help them develop healthy spending habits.

These are just a few of the ways that Islam can help to solve the issue of consumerism. By following the teachings of Islam, people can learn to live a more moderate, content, and charitable life.

Tackling false interpretation of the Deen:

“This sacred knowledge of the religion is going to be taken and carried from every preceding generation by a group of the subsequent generation. They will expel from it the alteration made by those going beyond bounds, false claims of the liars and the false interpretations of the ignorant ones” (Bayhaqi).

From every preceding generation, a group will take knowledge and they will purify from it any misrepresentation of the religion. For example, someone may have come with a new claim about religion and corrupted a number of people; after all, ideas are prone to exaggeration. The whole reason that communism came about is because the core need of man was to have economic stability. In Russia, there was a massive gap between those who had and those who did not, and that is why one need among the many needs of humanity—of economic stability—was promoted as the main need of that time. Eventually that particular need became the dominant aspect around which everything else began to revolve and they formed an entire system around it.

Similarly, let us say there is a time when we need to promote politics in Islam, which is just one of its many aspects. If somebody takes that and makes it the entire crux and spirit of Islam, and begins to say that even your salat (prayer) is part of your Islamic politics and it is a type of training in obedience to the leader, and starts to reinterpret all other acts of worship around a political vision, he will corrupt the entire religion. He has taken one aspect of religion, and made it the core of religion. Therefore, Allah sends people to deal with the consequences of such corruption and innovation. They undertake the work of revival.

-Taken from Mufti Dr. Abdur Rahman Yusuf's article on revival of the Deen.

Middle-class “Deendaar Muslim" marriages protocol with "nO-dOwRy-dEmAnDs"

Middle-class “Deendaar Muslim" marriages protocol with "nO-dOwRy-dEmAnDs":

Girl should be beautiful like a model. Height, weight, colour, features, etc... Even if the boy is the opposite!

She should be doctor or engineer. But should be a good cook too. And of-course, she should be "religious" but willing to compromise the Deen when required by in-laws or society, serve all the house members with a smile, etc! Plus she should not demand her sharaee rights too.

And since she didnt bring direct dowry, she should be willing to listen to the regular reminders and indirect taunts from the mother-in-law about it. 

Her father should be rich. Should have own house and other property in "good areas of city". Should give costly gifts from before time of engagement till death.

Give good parties before and after wedding.

High class wedding feast in a posh marriage hall is a must. Because no dowry demand you see.


All her siblings should be well educated and "well settled".

The boy's father may be having "sunnah beard and dress" and the boy also "religious" and has a beard too and are namazi. They are "against" all Dowry and biddat. They are regular in ijtemas. Listen to Dars etc. But the boy's mother or sister or aunt or grand-mother or some one in the family have some "Armaan" (desires) regarding the wedding. So they have to be "accommodated" and boy or his father cant say anything to stop any pre-wedding or post-wedding rusumaat of their ladies (without using the usual terminology to avoid being called as biddat) which will mean more expenses to the girl's father. You see this is just for the happiness of the family elders! So dont bring shariah in this issue please. Anyway we are all Deendaar people and belong to this or that jamaat or organisation too and we want to spread the Deen!

And some people also have condition that they wont hire a maid for doing house work since it’s against their “principles”! So, the doctor/engineer daughter in law should do that work too apart from her job!

So, these are different forms of indirect “halaal” dowry... Some people marry professional girls so that she can earn and give all her salary (another form of dowry) to her in-laws or husband.

Agreed that there is problem on the girl’s side too. But in Indian society, the boy's side is more responsible for this mess. They dont see the oppression they are doing directly and indirectly. This leads to a feminist type of reaction from girls when they see how their mothers and sisters and cousins and friends are suffering. The result will be a destruction of Islamic family system. The most annoying aspect of this is that people who are otherwise "good" and Deendar" do all this and still consider themselves good "Muslims". We urgently Need to create awareness about this aspect of Deen. Otherwise, such Partially "deendar" people will bring bad name to Deen itself more than the ‘non-practicing’ people. It’s a big question mark on the real social impact of all our Deeni organisations and Daiees. 

Social reality of our society is very ugly. Just some superficial Deeni symbols cannot hide it for long. It's our thinking and our desires that are rotten and unIslamic and based on jahiliyyah and kafir cultures. That’s why the entire marriage system is imbalanced, oppressive and exploitative. 

We need a complete change and radical reform in this aspect. A strong and uncompromising will to follow sunnat and shariat to the core in all aspects related to marriage, right from the beginning of selection of spouse to every aspect of our marital relations. We need our young men and women to be rebels who are willing to change themselves and the norms of the society with out caring what others in the family or society say.

Two types of Ikhtilaf (difference of opinion):

Two types of Ikhtilaf (differences of opinion):

We have to differentiate between valid differences of scholarly opinion between the recognised Madhahib which come up due to multiple possibilities in interpretations of texts & multiplicity of hadiths on the one hand and invalid misinterpretations and distortions of the Deen by either denying the clear ayat and ahadith or interpreting them in such a way that is either not possible linguistically or that goes against all principles of interpretation.

 If an individual scholar clearly denies agreed upon matters of belief or rejects Sahih Hadiths or distorts the traditional fiqh, then other scholars have a duty to warn about it since thats a serious matter and people may get misguided due to such a scholar. 

This is not sectarianism. This is preservation of the Deen and a duty of the Scholars which is crucial. Allāh’s Messenger (ﷺ) stated: “This knowledge will be carried by the trustworthy of every generation. They will expel from it the distortions of those who go to extremes, the lies of the falsifiers, and the interpretations of the ignorant.” (Authentically Reported by Ibn Qutaybah in ‘Uyūn Al-Akhbār 2/119, Al-Bayhaqī in As-Sunan Al-Kubrā 10/209, Al-Ājurrī in Ash-Sharī’ah no. 1-2, At-Tabrīzī in Mishkāt Al-Masābīh no. 248, Ibn Abdul-Barr in At-Tamhīd 1/59)

The responsibility of the common people is to stick to the general body of Ulama of their school of thought whether Shafi, Hanafi, Maliki or Hanbali and not follow those who go against the general scholarly consensus. The problem is people get impressed by good oratory skills and then defend their favourite speaker / Daiee even when they have problematic positions.

That's because, many people cannot identify problematic opinions of some famous writers or speakers. That's why such individuals have a large following of awaam. Informing about their pitfalls is a duty of those who know about the issue. It's an amanah. 

Just like when an individual doctor has a problematic treatment protocol which goes against the mainstream medical knowledge, then it's the duty of other doctors to warn the people against him. So, just because there's a controversy involving one doctor, patients cannot stop going to all doctors! Those who warn against him are not creating fitnah, rather he was the one who is creating fitnah and the others who pointed it out are only doing their duty and it points to their sincerity and well-wishing for the society. It also indicates that the system of medical practice is having effective and robust mechanism for preventing it's misuse and abuse by any erring individual. This mechanism should actually increase the credibility of the system and strengthen the trust of the people in it.

Female scholars in history vs Modern working women:

Female scholars in our history generally took the knowledge from their mahram relatives, who were scholars themselves, at home. And their numbers compared to the total number of scholars and Imams is small. 

A good example of women learning from their mahram relatives is Imam Ala' al-Din al-Samarqandi's daughter Fathima. Imam Al-Kasani was a student of the Hanafi legal scholar 'Ala' al-Din al-Samarqandi (died 1144), the author of Tuhfat al-Fuqaha'. Al-Samarqandi's daughter, Fatima, was also trained in Fiqh. Fatima al-Samarqandi was highly sought after for marriage. Fatima and her father only accepted Al-Kasani's proposal after he wrote Bada'i As-Sana'i as an explanation of Tuhfat Al-Fuqaha, and Bada'i As-Sana'i was accepted as a Bridal Gift for Fatima. This book is considered as one of the authoritative Hanafi fiqh books and is even today taught to fiqh students in madaris. 

However, such examples simply cannot be used to push the justification of modern universal female employment in factories and general offices. There have been some excellent fighters among sahabiat too that we read in history but it was not the norm for ladies to fight. Exceptions were there and will always be there and it cannot be used to generalise that for all. 

Ayesha siddiqua RA narrated 2100 ahadeeth in her 63 years of life. The Sahaba used to come and ask her from behind a curtain or used to write a letter asking the questions and she used to answer them by narrating the ahadeeth. It cannot be compared to the modern jobs that women do in any way. The female Hadith narrators (who were generally elderly in age) afterwards too used to listen to the ahadeeth from behind a curtain and give ijaza of that Hadeeth to the seekers who used to read out the Hadeeth loudly to her from behind a curtain. 

Their example simply doesn't justify modern women working in factories and general offices. 

Some people use the names of Hadith female narrators to make a claim that women used to learn and teach every where in society even in mixed gatherings. First of all we should know that every narrator of Hadith was not a scholar. Even common people used to memorize some ahadeeth and narrated to others. It doesn't make them scholars.

Islam doesnt discourage females from learning or teaching ilm but it has to be with the conditions stated by Shariah. Learning relevant basic Deeni knowledge is compulsory on every male and female. So definitely we need female scholars too to teach the women. 

Islam has a general scheme of social and family roles for males and females and it cannot be changed at our whims and to match the modern trends. The consequences of altering it will be disastrous. Let us keep all the genuine exceptions given in Shariah for women to work outside as exceptions without upsetting the divine balance.

Most of the Female Hadith transmitters were not scholars:

Most of the Female Hadith transmitters were not scholars:

"Due to the paucity of female authors in Islamic history, there has been a temptation to assume that any Muslim woman who was involved in hadith transmission was a scholar. 

Davidson thoroughly demolishes this assumption on the basis of his careful analysis of al-Sakhāwī’s (d. 902/1497) famous biographical dictionary, al-Ḍaw’ al-lāmi‘, and audition notices preserved in Damascus. 

He shows that a very small number of female transmitters were in fact scholars, such as Karīma al-Marwazi-yya (d. 463/1070) and Zaynab bt. al-Kamāl (d. 740/1339), which the vast majority of them were lay women. 

Part of his evidence for this argument is that these female transmitters were only sought out and audited when they were in their seventies and eighties, once their chains of transmission had become shorter than those of their contemporaries. Given that women who survive childbearing generally live longer than men, the Sunni quest for elevated chains of transmission presented long-lived women with an opportunity to become valued hadith transmitters. 

However, this same culture that valued elevation also did not demand that the transmitter be literate or a scholar, and this fact is reflected by Davidson’s finding that female transmitters were always passive participants in their audition sessions and rarely described as having scholarly credentials. 

In other words, a man read the hadith book out loud to the audience in the presence of the elderly female transmitter, like what we saw above in the case of al-Ḥajjār. This finding is especially devasting for a book such as Mohamad al-Nadawi’s al-Muḥaddithāt: The Women Scholars of Islam (Oxford 2007), because it means that the vast majority of women mentioned in it almost certainly were lay transmitters who lacked the basic credentials associated with Muslim scholarship." 

- Scott Lucas, Associate professor of Islamic Studies, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA, in his review of the book Carrying on the Tradition: A Social and Intellectual History of Hadith Transmission across a Thousand Years (BOSTON: BRILL, 2020) By GARRETT A. DAVIDSON in American Journal of Islam And Society 38:3-4 

https://www.ajis.org/index.php/ajiss/article/view/2992/2648

Why the Deeni Madrasas are the most important assests of the community and why we need to support them?

Why the Deeni Madrasas are the most important assets of the community and why we need to support them?

Madrasas are the most productive institutions today when we consider the amount the community spends on them (compared to other institutions) and their crucial services to the community. Madrasas play multiple roles. Our investment on them is almost totally from zakat which any how we have to give as a fardh. 

Apart from imparting free Islamic education to the poorest of the poor, the madrasas provide them free food and shelter for 8 to 10 years & with dignity. Many of these madrasas have orphans too making them the largest network of orphanages in the community. Madrasa system not only gives their students Taleem and academic certificates but also do their Deeni and akhlaqi tarbiyat & make them responsible & morally much better human beings. I don't know which modern schools do such fine deeni tarbiyat. All the Deeni services needed for the community are provided by the graduates of madaris whether it's the basic level like regular imamat of masajid, khateebs for Juma and Eid prayers, funeral services, teaching Quran to children, giving duroos in the masjids etc to the higher level roles like managing various community organisations, providing milli leadership and guiding the ummah in Deeni matters and the highest and most important role of preserving the knowledge of the Deen and passing it on to the future generations to safeguard the Deen till qiyamat and protecting the Deen from Tahreefaat and distortion. Basically it's the madaris and their graduates which keep the Deen alive in the community by acting as a link between the Deen and the masses.

There are different categories and levels of madaris just like in modern schools and colleges there are different levels. So definitely all madrasa graduates are not at the same level. The top madaris have produced and continue to produce some of the best Ulama whose erudition and authority is widely acclaimed in the Islamic world. Most of the milli leadership is comprised of Ulama from these madaris even today. In the matters of Deen, the modern educated people generally cannot compare with them in both ilm and taqwa. It's almost impossible for those like us who have studied under a secular educational system since childhood to be totally free from it's ill effects which have seeped in to our way of thinking, our priorities, our way of looking at the dunya, our weltanschauung & our response to various challenges of life. Those who studied the Deen in madrasa system don't have that spiritual and ideological disadvantage. Their minds and hearts are purer, more natural & aligned with Islam.

It's not an exaggeration, this is what one feels again and again when one sits with them. 

Even knowledge wise, the ilmi depth of the curriculum they teach in madrasas is way beyond what most of the modern Islamic schools teach. There is no comparison. One just needs to go through the books they teach to realise this.

Some exceptions are there everywhere. But we have to see the general picture.

Many people mock the madaris that they teach only by rote learning and that their syllabus is outdated.

We should know that the Memorisation based learning is done only at the level of Hifz of Quran and few initial Alim course subjects where one has to memorise Arabic grammar rules, Sarf and vocabulary. After that it's mostly an understanding based learning with some amount of necessary memorisation. Most of the Darse Nizami books are so voluminous that its impossible to do rote learning! 

Infact the darse nizami syllabus teaches Logic and philosophy too which teach critical, coherent and systematic thinking from a young age. Fiqh and Usool al fiqh are the pinnacle of rationality applied to Quran and Hadith for practical scenario application and problem solving. These skills are perfected at Ifta level to the maximum. 

We have a lot of misunderstandings about the madaris and their syllabi because we dont know much about it. I realised it all after studying these books with the ulama alhamdulillah. Many books I could simply not understand unless the teacher explained it repeatedly in class. All my previous extensive reading of general Islamic literature and listening to general bayans and lectures couldnt help me there. It's a totally different level. The Islamic intellectual tradition is quite strong and unique and no way less in-depth compared to modern subjects.

There is a wide gulf between the modern educated and madaris graduates. Misunderstandings are there on both sides and common Muslims tend to get biased also because of the image that western and Indian media have willfully created of the madaris and their education being outdated and useless and extremist, narrow minded etc, all Islamophobic tropes. We need to be careful in this. 

Ofcourse there is a room for improvement in the system of madaris we have today. And the Madrasa managements are very much aware of this. Many big madaris are infact teaching English, maths and computers to their students. But their major problem is they are not able to find proper teachers to teach these subjects due to low salaries the madaris can offer, apart from other difficulties. But slowly things are changing. The more we get involved with madaris and offer our help, the more they will improve and serve the community better. The increasingly complex challenges the community is facing from different directions makes it incumbent upon us to strengthen the madaris more so that they can prepare to meet the challenges better. InshaAllah.

(The author is a Medical Doctor who has completed traditional Alim course too)

Interesting dialogue between a great Sahabi and an educated woman who challenged his fatwa on women's cosmetic procedures:

Interesting dialogue between a great Sahabi and an educated woman who challenged his fatwa on women's cosmetic procedures:

Hazrat 'Abd Allah bin Mas'ud said:
Allah has cursed the woman who tattoo and the women who have themselves tattooed, the women who add false hair and the women who pluck hairs from their faces, the women who spaces between their teeth for beauty, changing what Allah has created.

When a woman of Banu Asad named Umm Ya'qub, who read the Qur'an heard it, she came to him and said: I have heard that you have cursed the women who tattoo, those have themselves tattooed, those who add false hair, those pluck hairs from their faces, and those who make spaces between their teeth, for changing what Allah has created.

He said: Why should I not curse those whom the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had cursed and those who were mentioned in Allah's Book?

She said: I have read it from cover to cover and have not found in it.

He said: I swear by Allah, if you read it, you would have found it. He then recited: "What the Apostle has brought to you accept it, and what he has forbidden, refrain from it."

She said: I find some of these things in you wife.

He said: Enter (the house) and see.
She said: I then entered (the house) and came out.
He asked: What did you see ?
She said: I did not see (anything of that sort).
He said: Had it been so, she would not have been with us. 

-Sunan Abi Dawud 4169 (graded Sahih)

Subhan Allah, even today people argue similarly if they don't like a shariah ruling.

Speaking without knowledge:

Speaking without knowledge:

A descendent of the sahabi Abdullah bin Umar (RA) was asked about something that he did not have knowledge about, so Yahyā bin Sa’īd said to him:
‘By Allah, indeed it is a grave matter that the likes of you, a descendent of two Imāms of guidance – meaning Umar and Ibn Umar (RA)– is asked about a matter and you have no knowledge of it’. 

So he replied:

 ‘By Allah, more grave than that according to Allah, and to whoever reflects about Allah, is to speak without knowledge or to report on authority of one who is not trustworthy’.

-Sahih Muslim Hadith 34 of Muqaddimah.

Our Islamic activists and social media "Daees/scholars" should reflect on this before posting or commenting on every Islamic issue.