Capitalism is based upon the separation of religion from life. This idea (fikrah) is its ‘aqeedah (doctrine), its intellectual leadership (qiyaadah fikriyyah) and its intellectual basis (qa'idah fikriyyah). According to this intellectual basis (al-qa'idah al-fikriyyah) man lays down the system for this life, so it is necessary to preserve for man the following types of freedom: freedom of belief (hurriyat ul-aqeedah), freedom of opinion (hurriyat urra'i), freedom of ownership (hurriyat ul-milkiyyah) and personal freedom (al hurriyat ushshakhsiyyah). The Capitalist economic system resulted from the freedom of ownership, so capitalism has become the most prominent feature in this mabda'a and the most prominent matter that resulted from the doctrine (‘aqeedah) of this ideology (mabda'a). Thus, this ideology (mabda'a) is named Capitalism, after its most prominent element. As for democracy, which is ascribed to this ideology, it stems from the fact that man lays down his own system. The nation is therefore, the source of authority. She lays down the system, she employs the ruler to govern her, and strips him of his authority when she wants and establishes and lays down to him the system she likes. This is because ruling is an employment contract between the people and the ruler to rule according to the system, which the people choose, so as to govern them with. Though democracy is a part of capitalism, it is less prominent than the economic system. This is because the capitalist economic system in the West influences the government to the extent that the capitalists (owners of capital) are effectively the real rulers in the countries which adopt the capitalist ideology. Moreover, democracy is not limited to this ideology, since the Communists also claim to be democratic and call for giving the ruling to the nation (people). It is therefore more accurate to call this ideology the Capitalist Ideology or Capitalism.
This ideology originally emerged when the emperors and kings of Europe and Russia were using religion as a means to exploit the peoples, transgress against them and suck their blood. They used the clergy as an instrument for this. There arose, as a result of this, a bloody struggle in which some philosophers and thinkers denied religion completely. Others acknowledged religion but called for its separation from this life. Eventually, the opinion of the majority of the philosophers and thinkers settled on one idea, which is the separation of religion from this life. It naturally resulted in the separation of religion from the state. Thus, the opinion settled on avoiding the discussion of religion, whether in denial or recognition and instead discussion was confined to the necessity of separating religion from this life. This idea is considered a compromise (solution) between the clergy, on the one hand, who sought to control everything in the name of religion and the philosophers and thinkers, on the other hand, who denied religion and the authority of the clergy. Therefore, this idea did not deny religion nor did it allow it to interfere in the life, instead it just separated it from life. Consequently, the ‘aqeedah (doctrine), which the West embraced, is the separation of religion from life. This ‘aqeedah (doctrine) is the intellectual basis upon which all thoughts are built, upon its basis the intellectual direction of man and his viewpoint in life are determined and upon its basis all life problems are solved. It is the intellectual leadership, which the West carries and calls the world to.
The separation of religion from life implicitly recognises religion, and by doing so, it recognises that there is a Creator for the universe, man and life and that there will be a Day of Resurrection, because this is the foundation of religion as a religion. This acknowledgement provides an idea about the universe, man, life, what preceded this life and what is to follow it, because it didn't deny the existence of religion. Rather when it called for its separation from it implicitly confirmed its existence and gave an idea that there is no relationship between this life with what preceded it and with what is to follow it, when it called for the separation of religion from life and that religion is only a relationship between the individual and his Creator. Accordingly, this ‘aqeedah (doctrine) (separation of religion from the life), by its all-inclusive concept, constitutes a comprehensive idea about the universe, man and life. Thus the Capitalist ideology, by this explanation, is an ideology like any other.
As for Islam, it holds that beyond man, life and the universe there is a Creator, who created them all. Therefore, its basis is the conviction in the existence of Allah (swt). This ‘aqeedah is the one, which determined the spiritual aspect in everything, that is the fact that the universe, man and life are created by a creator. Therefore, the relationship of the universe, as being created by Allah (swt) the creator and the relationship of the created life with Allah (swt) the creator, and the relationship of the created man with Allah (swt) the creator, such a relationship is the spiritual aspect in the universe, in life and in man. The spirit (ruH), therefore, is man's comprehension of his relationship with Allah (swt).
The belief in Allah (swt) must also be linked with the belief in the Prophethood of Muhammad (saws), his Message and that the Qur'an is the speech of Allah (swt). Hence, it is obligatory to believe in everything he brought. Accordingly, the Islamic ‘aqeedah makes it compulsory to believe in what preceded this life, which is Allah (swt), to believe in that which is after this life - which is the Day of Resurrection and that man is restricted in this life by the commands and prohibitions of Allah (swt) which represent the relationship of this life with what preceded it. Man is also restricted with the accounting on following these commands and avoiding these prohibitions. This accountability represents the relationship of this life with what follows it. Inevitably, a Muslim must realise his relationship with Allah (swt) when undertaking any action, thus he directs his actions according to the commands and prohibitions of Allah (swt). This is the meaning of mixing matter with spirit. The ultimate goal of directing the actions by the commands and prohibitions of Allah (swt) is to attain His pleasure. While the immediate aim from undertaking such actions is the value which the action achieves.
Islam is therefore comprised of an ’aqeedah and systems and the Islamic ideology is both a fikra and a
tareeqah (method), which is of the same kind as the fikrah. Its system emanates from its ‘aqeedah and its haDarah (civilisation) is a unique way of life. Islam's method in carrying the da’wah is by implementing it by the State and carrying it as an intellectual leadership to the world which should be the basis for understanding and practicing Islam. Implementing Islam on the community, which is governed by its system is considered carrying the Islamic da’wah (to them), because applying Islam on non- Muslims is considered to be the practical method for the da’wah. This implementation had the greatest effect in creating the vast Islamic world.
The matter that proves the validity of the ideology (mabda'a) is the ‘aqeedah. This is because the ‘aqeedah is the intellectual basis (al-qa'idah al-fikriyyah) upon which every thought is built, views are defined and from which every solution and method emanates. Therefore, if the intellectual basis (al-qa'idah al-fikrayyah) is correct the ideology (mabda'a) will be correct and if it is false the ideology (mabda'a) will be false from its basis.
If the comprehensive idea (doctrine) agrees with man's nature (fiTrah) and is built upon the mind it will be correct. However, if it disagrees with man's nature (fiTrah) and is not built upon the mind it will be false. The compatibility with man's nature means that the ‘aqeedah recognises the natural weakness of man and his need for the Creator, the Sovereign, i.e., it agrees with the instinct of religiousness (tadayyun). Building the ‘aqeedah (doctrine) on the mind means that it is not built on matter or a solution arrived through compromise.
The intellectual leadership of Islam agrees with man's nature (fiTrah). In spite of its depth it is easily understood. One's heart and mind are quickly opened to it, eagerly trying to understand it and pondering over its details with appreciation. This is because religiousness is instinctive in man. Every man is religious by his nature and no power can remove from him this nature (fiTrah), because it is deeply rooted in him. Man, by nature, feels that he is incomplete and that there is a greater power which deserves to be sanctified. Man's instinct of religiousness is the need for the Creator the Organiser that arises from his natural weakness. This instinct of religiousness is constant and has a specific manifestation, which is the sanctification (taqdees). Consequently, mankind is religious and has always worshipped something throughout history. Humanity has worshipped man, planets, stones, animals, fire and other things. Islam, however, with its doctrine came to lead man away from worshipping created things to the worship of Allah (swt) who created everything. The advent of the materialistic ideology, which denies the existence of Allah (swt) and our relationship with Him (swt), could not put an end to this innate religiousness. However, it shifted man's conception of power greater than himself and of his sanctification of this power. It shifted all that to conceiving this power in men and made his sanctification to them alone. It is as if it went backward, and shifted people's sanctification from worshipping Allah (swt) to worshipping the servants (of Allah), away from venerating the ayat of Allah (swt) to venerating the words of the created. So it was backward in that regard. It could not eliminate the nature (fiTrah) of religiousness; it rather, deceitfully shifted it backward.
The Capitalistic intellectual leadership likewise disagrees with man's nature (fiTrah) i.e. the instinct of religiousness. This is because the instinct of religiousness manifests itself in sanctification as well as in management of man's affairs in life. The inconsistency and contradictions appear when man undertakes this management; testifying to man's inability. Consequently, the deen (revealed from the Creator) must manage man's affairs in life. Thus the separation of the deen from life contradicts man's nature (fiTrah). The presence of the deen in life does not mean making the functions of life religious rites. Rather, the presence of the deen in life means making the system that Allah (swt) ordained, solve man's problems in life. This system emanates from the ‘aqeedah, which agrees with man's nature (fiTrah). Removing this system and replacing it with a system which emanates from a creed that disagrees with the instinct of religiousness disagrees with man's nature (fiTrah). Therefore, the intellectual leadership of Capitalism fails from the instinctive (fiTriy) aspect because it is a negative one, for it separates the deen from life, banishes religiousness from life and making it an individualistic issue and removes Allah's (swt) system which He ordained, from solving man's problems.
The Islamic intellectual leadership is positive since it establishes the mind as the basis for the belief in the existence of Allah (swt). It draws man's attention to the elements of the universe, man and life to conclusively and decisively establish the existence of Allah (swt), the Creator of these things. It defines for man the utmost perfection which he innately searches for and does not exist in him, the life, or the universe and directs man's mind to this utmost (Supreme) power so as to realise His (swt) existence and believe in Him.
[Extracted from the writings of Shiekh Taqiuddin an Nabhani (ra)]
About this blog
In recent times a plethora of misconceptions, misrepresentation and myths have been forged about Islam
and Muslims. Many western influentials from politicians, policymakers to judges have taken it upon
themselves to undermine the Islamic beliefs, values and rules so to make it palatable to their
egotistic minds and the secular liberal thoughts.
This blog is dedicated:-
1. To argue the point for Islam in its belief and systems and to refute the misconceptions.
2. To expose the weakness and contradictions of all forms of secularism.
and Muslims. Many western influentials from politicians, policymakers to judges have taken it upon
themselves to undermine the Islamic beliefs, values and rules so to make it palatable to their
egotistic minds and the secular liberal thoughts.
This blog is dedicated:-
1. To argue the point for Islam in its belief and systems and to refute the misconceptions.
2. To expose the weakness and contradictions of all forms of secularism.
13 Jun 2008
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What they said...
“Islam represented the greatest military power on earth…It was the foremost economic power in the world…It had achieved the highest level so far in human history, in the arts and sciences of civilization...Islam in contrast created a world civilization, poly-ethnic, multiracial, international, one might even say intercontinental.”
[Bernard Lewis, Professor of Near Eastern Studies, Orientalist and Historian, 2001]
"There was once a civilization that was the greatest in the world. It was able to create a continental super-state that stretched from ocean to ocean, and from northern climes to tropics and deserts…the civilization I'm talking about was the Islamic world from the year 800 to 1600… Although we are often unaware of our indebtedness to this other civilization, its gifts are very much a part of our heritage"
[Carly Fiorina, ex-CEO of Hewlett-Packard, 2001]
"For the first three centuries of its existence (circ. A.D 650-1000) the realm of Islam was the most civilized and progressive portion of the world. Studded with splendid cities, gracious mosques and quiet universities where the wisdom of the ancient world was preserved and appreciated, the Moslem world offered a striking contrast to the Christian West, then sunk in the night of the Dark Ages."
[Lothrop Stoddard, Ph.D (Harvard), American political theorist and historian, 1932]
"Medieval Islam was technologically advanced and open to innovation. It achieved far higher literacy rates than in contemporary Europe;it assimilated the legacy of classical Greek civilization to such a degree that many classical books are now known to us only through Arabic copies. It invented windmills ,trigonometry, lateen sails and made major advances in metallurgy, mechanical and chemical engineering and irrigation methods. In the middle-ages the flow of technology was overwhelmingly from Islam to Europe rather from Europe to Islam. Only after the 1500's did the net direction of flow begin to reverse."
[Jared Diamond, UCLA sociologist and Author, 1997]
"No other society has such a record of success in uniting in an equality of status, of opportunity and endeavour so many and so varied races of mankind. The great Muslim communities of Africa, India and Indonesia, perhaps also the small community in Japan, show that Islam has still the power to reconcile apparently irreconcilable elements of race and tradition. If ever the opposition of the great societies of the East and west is to be replaced by cooperation, the mediation of Islam is an indispensable condition."
[Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen Gibb, Professor at Harvard University, 1932]
“The Muhammadan Law which is binding on all -- from the crowned head to the meanest subject is a law interwoven with a system of the wisest, the most learned and the most enlightened jurisprudence that ever existed in the world.”
[Edmund Burke, British Statesman and Philosopher, 1789]
"The Exile here is not like in our homeland. The Turks hold respectable Jews in esteem. Here and in Alexandria, Egypt, Jews are the chief officers and administrators of the customs, and the king’s revenues. No injuries are perpetuated against them in all the empire. Only this year, in consequence of the extraordinary expenditure caused by the war against Shah Tahmsap al-Sufi, were the Jews required to make advances of loans to the princes."
[David dei Rossi, Jewish Traveller 17CE, quoted by Norman A. Stillman, The Jews of Arab Lands]
"The notable religious tolerance towards Christians and Jew under Muslim rule had given way to the uncompromising zealotry of Spanish Inquisition. Jews and Muslims thus fled Spain with large numbers of Jews immigrating to the Ottoman Empire which was known for its tolerance to the Jews."
[Graham Fuller, Author and former CIA, 1995]
“If there is much misunderstanding in the West about the nature of Islam, there is also much ignorance about the debt our own culture and civilization owe to the Islamic world. It is a failure, which stems, I think, from the straightjacket of history, which we have inherited. The medieval Islamic world, from central Asia to the shores of the Atlantic, was a world where scholars and men of learning flourished. But because we have tended to see Islam as the enemy of the West, as an alien culture, society, and systems of beliefs, we have tended to ignore or erase its great relevance to our own history”
[Charles Philip Arthur George, HRH The Prince of Wales, 1993]
"...Not being subject to the Sharia, Jews and Christians were free to go to their own religious authorities for adjudication of disputes; but in many cases they went instead to the [Muslim] Qadi"
[Richard W. Bulliet, Professor of History and Author, 2004]
"Here in the land of the Turks we have nothing to complain of. We possess great fortunes; much gold and silver are in our hands. We are not oppressed by heavy taxes and our commerce is free and unhindered. Rich are the fruits of the earth. Everything is cheap and each one of us lives in freedom. Here a Jew is not compelled to wear a yellow star as a badge of shame as is the case in Germany where even wealth and great fortune is a curse for a Jew because he therewith arouses jealousy among the Christians and they devise all kinds of slander against him to rob him of his gold. Arise my brethren, gird up your loins, collect up your forces and come to us."
[In his book 'Constantinople', Philip Mansel quotes a rabbi in Turkey writing to his brethren in Europe where they were facing increasing persecution after 1453]
"Praise be to the beneficent God for his mercy towards me! Kings of the earth, to whom his [the Caliph’s] magnificence and power are known, bring gifts to him, conciliating his favour by costly presents, such as the king of the Germans, the king of the Gebalim, the king of Constantinople, and others. All their gifts pass through my hands, and I am charged with making gifts in return. (Let my lips express praise to the God in heaven who so far extends his loving kindness towards me without any merit of my own, but in the fullness of his mercies.) I always ask the ambassadors of these monarchs about our brethren the Jews, the remnant of the captivity, whether they have heard anything concerning the deliverance of those who have pined in bondage and had found no rest."
[Hasdai Ibn Shaprut (915-990 CE) Jewish physician, chief minister of Islamic Caliphate in Cordova, 'The Jewish Caravan']
"In Baghdad there are about forty thousand Jews, and they dwell in security, prosperity, and honour under the great Caliph [al-Mustanjid, 1160-70 CE], and amongst them are great sages, the Heads of the Academies engaged in the study of the Law…’"
[Benjamin of Tudela, Rabbi in Baghdad in the year 1168 CE, 'The Jew in the Medieval World']
"Those Eastern thinkers of the ninth century laid down, on the basis of their theology, the principle of the Rights of Man, in those very terms, comprehending the rights of individual liberty, and of inviolability of person and property; described the supreme power in Islam, or Califate, as based on a contract, implying conditions of capacity and performance, and subject to cancellation if the conditions under the contract were not fulfilled; elaborated a Law of War of which the humane, chivalrous prescriptions would have put to the blush certain belligerents in the Great War; expounded a doctrine of toleration of non-Moslem creeds so liberal that our West had to wait a thousand years before seeing equivalent principles adopted.
[Leon Ostorog, French Jurist]
"The debt of our science to that of the Arabs does not consist in startling discoveries or revolutionary theories; science owes a great deal more to Arab culture, it owes its existence"
[Robert Briffault, Novelist and Historian, 1928]
"The only effective link between the old and the new science is afforded by the Arabs. The dark ages come as an utter gap in the scientific history of Europe, and for more than a thousand years there was not a scientific man of note except in Arabia"
[Oliver Joseph Lodge, Writer and Professor of Physics, 1893]
“Thus, when Muslims crossed the straits of Gibraltar from North Africa in 711 and invaded the Iberian Peninsula, Jews welcomed them as liberators from Christian Persecution.”
[Zion Zohar, Jewish scholar at Florida International University, 2005]
[Bernard Lewis, Professor of Near Eastern Studies, Orientalist and Historian, 2001]
"There was once a civilization that was the greatest in the world. It was able to create a continental super-state that stretched from ocean to ocean, and from northern climes to tropics and deserts…the civilization I'm talking about was the Islamic world from the year 800 to 1600… Although we are often unaware of our indebtedness to this other civilization, its gifts are very much a part of our heritage"
[Carly Fiorina, ex-CEO of Hewlett-Packard, 2001]
"For the first three centuries of its existence (circ. A.D 650-1000) the realm of Islam was the most civilized and progressive portion of the world. Studded with splendid cities, gracious mosques and quiet universities where the wisdom of the ancient world was preserved and appreciated, the Moslem world offered a striking contrast to the Christian West, then sunk in the night of the Dark Ages."
[Lothrop Stoddard, Ph.D (Harvard), American political theorist and historian, 1932]
"Medieval Islam was technologically advanced and open to innovation. It achieved far higher literacy rates than in contemporary Europe;it assimilated the legacy of classical Greek civilization to such a degree that many classical books are now known to us only through Arabic copies. It invented windmills ,trigonometry, lateen sails and made major advances in metallurgy, mechanical and chemical engineering and irrigation methods. In the middle-ages the flow of technology was overwhelmingly from Islam to Europe rather from Europe to Islam. Only after the 1500's did the net direction of flow begin to reverse."
[Jared Diamond, UCLA sociologist and Author, 1997]
"No other society has such a record of success in uniting in an equality of status, of opportunity and endeavour so many and so varied races of mankind. The great Muslim communities of Africa, India and Indonesia, perhaps also the small community in Japan, show that Islam has still the power to reconcile apparently irreconcilable elements of race and tradition. If ever the opposition of the great societies of the East and west is to be replaced by cooperation, the mediation of Islam is an indispensable condition."
[Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen Gibb, Professor at Harvard University, 1932]
“The Muhammadan Law which is binding on all -- from the crowned head to the meanest subject is a law interwoven with a system of the wisest, the most learned and the most enlightened jurisprudence that ever existed in the world.”
[Edmund Burke, British Statesman and Philosopher, 1789]
"The Exile here is not like in our homeland. The Turks hold respectable Jews in esteem. Here and in Alexandria, Egypt, Jews are the chief officers and administrators of the customs, and the king’s revenues. No injuries are perpetuated against them in all the empire. Only this year, in consequence of the extraordinary expenditure caused by the war against Shah Tahmsap al-Sufi, were the Jews required to make advances of loans to the princes."
[David dei Rossi, Jewish Traveller 17CE, quoted by Norman A. Stillman, The Jews of Arab Lands]
"The notable religious tolerance towards Christians and Jew under Muslim rule had given way to the uncompromising zealotry of Spanish Inquisition. Jews and Muslims thus fled Spain with large numbers of Jews immigrating to the Ottoman Empire which was known for its tolerance to the Jews."
[Graham Fuller, Author and former CIA, 1995]
“If there is much misunderstanding in the West about the nature of Islam, there is also much ignorance about the debt our own culture and civilization owe to the Islamic world. It is a failure, which stems, I think, from the straightjacket of history, which we have inherited. The medieval Islamic world, from central Asia to the shores of the Atlantic, was a world where scholars and men of learning flourished. But because we have tended to see Islam as the enemy of the West, as an alien culture, society, and systems of beliefs, we have tended to ignore or erase its great relevance to our own history”
[Charles Philip Arthur George, HRH The Prince of Wales, 1993]
"...Not being subject to the Sharia, Jews and Christians were free to go to their own religious authorities for adjudication of disputes; but in many cases they went instead to the [Muslim] Qadi"
[Richard W. Bulliet, Professor of History and Author, 2004]
"Here in the land of the Turks we have nothing to complain of. We possess great fortunes; much gold and silver are in our hands. We are not oppressed by heavy taxes and our commerce is free and unhindered. Rich are the fruits of the earth. Everything is cheap and each one of us lives in freedom. Here a Jew is not compelled to wear a yellow star as a badge of shame as is the case in Germany where even wealth and great fortune is a curse for a Jew because he therewith arouses jealousy among the Christians and they devise all kinds of slander against him to rob him of his gold. Arise my brethren, gird up your loins, collect up your forces and come to us."
[In his book 'Constantinople', Philip Mansel quotes a rabbi in Turkey writing to his brethren in Europe where they were facing increasing persecution after 1453]
"Praise be to the beneficent God for his mercy towards me! Kings of the earth, to whom his [the Caliph’s] magnificence and power are known, bring gifts to him, conciliating his favour by costly presents, such as the king of the Germans, the king of the Gebalim, the king of Constantinople, and others. All their gifts pass through my hands, and I am charged with making gifts in return. (Let my lips express praise to the God in heaven who so far extends his loving kindness towards me without any merit of my own, but in the fullness of his mercies.) I always ask the ambassadors of these monarchs about our brethren the Jews, the remnant of the captivity, whether they have heard anything concerning the deliverance of those who have pined in bondage and had found no rest."
[Hasdai Ibn Shaprut (915-990 CE) Jewish physician, chief minister of Islamic Caliphate in Cordova, 'The Jewish Caravan']
"In Baghdad there are about forty thousand Jews, and they dwell in security, prosperity, and honour under the great Caliph [al-Mustanjid, 1160-70 CE], and amongst them are great sages, the Heads of the Academies engaged in the study of the Law…’"
[Benjamin of Tudela, Rabbi in Baghdad in the year 1168 CE, 'The Jew in the Medieval World']
"Those Eastern thinkers of the ninth century laid down, on the basis of their theology, the principle of the Rights of Man, in those very terms, comprehending the rights of individual liberty, and of inviolability of person and property; described the supreme power in Islam, or Califate, as based on a contract, implying conditions of capacity and performance, and subject to cancellation if the conditions under the contract were not fulfilled; elaborated a Law of War of which the humane, chivalrous prescriptions would have put to the blush certain belligerents in the Great War; expounded a doctrine of toleration of non-Moslem creeds so liberal that our West had to wait a thousand years before seeing equivalent principles adopted.
[Leon Ostorog, French Jurist]
"The debt of our science to that of the Arabs does not consist in startling discoveries or revolutionary theories; science owes a great deal more to Arab culture, it owes its existence"
[Robert Briffault, Novelist and Historian, 1928]
"The only effective link between the old and the new science is afforded by the Arabs. The dark ages come as an utter gap in the scientific history of Europe, and for more than a thousand years there was not a scientific man of note except in Arabia"
[Oliver Joseph Lodge, Writer and Professor of Physics, 1893]
“Thus, when Muslims crossed the straits of Gibraltar from North Africa in 711 and invaded the Iberian Peninsula, Jews welcomed them as liberators from Christian Persecution.”
[Zion Zohar, Jewish scholar at Florida International University, 2005]
“Throughout much of the period in question, Arabic served as the global language of scholarship, and learned men of all stripes could travel widely and hold serious and nuanced discussions in this lingua franca. Medieval Western scholars who wanted access to the latest findings also needed to master the Arabic Tongue or work from translations by those who had done so.”
[Jonathan Lyons, Author, Writer and Lecturer, 2009]
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