Islam and the Problems of Contemporary Man

ISLAM and the Problems of Contemporary Man This paper was presented to the Second Caribbean Islamic Conference, Barbados (March 31-April 4, 1983). The teachings of Islam can broadly be divided into two parts. The first part consists of man’s relationship with God, and the second concerns man’s relationship with man. The term ibadah (worship) covers the teachings of the first category and the term Mu’amalat, or human affairs, covers the teachings of the second category. The teachings of Islam pertaining to worship are unchangeable. To add to them or detract from them in any way would amount to bida’a, or innovation, a term which applies only to matters of worship. Commandments regarding man’s dealings with his fellow men are not immutable in this way. Here we have been provided only with the basics, and we are free to apply them to changing circumstances at all times. Independent judgement can only be exercised in this second category; it is only means of such independent judgement, or ijtihad, that the basic teachings of Islam can be applied to the changing face of the world. The difference between the two types of teaching is clear from Hadith. On the one hand the Prophet said, “Anything invented by anyone in this religion which is not a part of it should be rejected.” This statement refers to matters of worship. On the other hand, the Prophet’s conversation with Mu’az ibn Jabal, when he was being dispatched to Yemen to takeover as governor of that province, shows the different nature of the second type of commandments. The Prophet questioned his companion before his departure: “How,” he asked, “will you judge matters?” “With the help of the Quran,” Mu’az replied. The Prophet then went on to ask what he would do if he did not find the guidelines in the Quran. Mu’az said that he would have recourse to the Sunnah, or practice of the Prophet. “And what,” the Prophet asked, “if you do not find the necessary guidelines in the Sunnah?” “Then,” said Mu’az, “I will exercise my own judgement to the best of my ability.” The Prophet expressed his