IT IS fundamental and important to understand the social realities in whatever we do, be it in politics or business, what more if we are trying to reform society for the better.
The realities of almost all societies are often not in harmony with their social ideals.
This applies also to us. The authorities and the public must narrow the gap between the realities and ideals. This is the only way to be a world-class player. Our society must uphold the right ideals as a life without these can lead to confusion.
This is not good for the individual and the society. A society has to have the right ideals to achieve stability and be productive. Malaysians, like others, have equal opportunities to excel by adopting the right ideals.
Islam believes the nature of man has not changed despite the passing of time and changes in lifestyle. As long as man is man, he needs his Creator’s guidance.
Religious teachings insist on good individual character, social stability and harmony. Confused individuals and an unstable society cannot move forward for social betterment. The human-created ideologies as we could observe in the present secular systems contribute significantly to the increase in social ills and eventually to social instability.
They operate in spiritual emptiness. Human success cannot be attained in a spiritual vacuum. Man by nature is a spiritual being. Social modernity does not change this human nature.
Islam provides clear and lucid guidelines to help man lead a happy and successful life. It has its own principles
which Muslims must follow.
Islam insists that individuals uphold a high standard of morality and requires society to be organised along the principles of justice and brotherhood. The present predicament among Muslims is that many do not have the right understanding of the fundamentals of their own religion.
Many understand religion as a personal ritual. The social dimension of Islam is less understood. Islam is a living religion with the right principles which cover all aspects of human life.
These principles are to be used to organise societies for success in all these aspects. The Quranic language has equated those who lose faith in religion as those who do not use their intellect properly.
The Quranic word la ya’ qilun refers to those who do not use their intelligence correctly. The Quran never regards those who have gone astray from religion as those who have corruption of the will but as those with improper functioning of intelligence.
Besides a comprehensive understanding of our idealism, we should have an in-depth understanding of the social realities in our efforts to reform society. For the Muslims, there should not be any compromise on religious principles and regulations.
They are eternal and relevant regardless of place and time. But in the process of reforming society, the social realities must be fully understood. Through this understanding, Islamic principles could effectively be applied with less opposition from all.
Reforming a society is a gradual process. All necessary steps have to be taken, especially by those in authority, to achieve the ideal.
This commitment to reform must be out of a genuine belief that through it, the society could advance.
The society’s way of thinking should first be analysed and evaluated.
Clarity of mind and commitment to the right ideals can lead to the right actions. Thus, for the society, the development of the right worldview about social ideals is of prime importance.
On the other hand, there must be a clear theoretical framework about Islamic ideals if we are to adopt the Islamic way of life.
In order to translate Islamic ideals into policies and programmes, besides having strong grounding in the Quranic and Hadith sciences, the scholars of Islam have to be very comfortable with contemporary thoughts which
influence the thinking of present society.
The great Muslim scholars of the past were encyclopaedists. Take for example, Imam Abu Yusuf.
Besides having a strong grounding in the Quranic and Hadith sciences, he could write and recommend to the authorities of his time a system of collecting revenue for the country in his famous work, Kitab al-Kharaj (Taxation in Islam).
This showed he understood the economic system operating in his day, that is, he understood the social realities of his time. It is not possible to use Islamic principles to organise the present society if one could not appreciate how the existing systems operate, whether they are political, judicial or economic systems.
The present rigidity among some Muslims in trying to reform society is basically because of their lack of understanding of the existing social perspectives. However good and sincere the intentions are, the most effective and lasting way of inculcating good values and reforming society is through education and producing role models that everybody could emulate.