Islam and the Problems of Contemporary Man

and God’s approval of Mu’az’s Policy, and thanked God for granting his companion sound judgement. These two examples from Hadith show that there is no ijtihad in matters of worship. As far as worldly affairs are concerned, however, the right of independent judgement shall always be valid. This is clear from the Prophet’s comment on the verse of the Quran which enjoins the believers to “muster against them all the force at (their) disposal” (8:60). The meaning of ‘force,’ the Prophet said, “is shooting arrows.” One and a half thousand years ago, the bow and arrow were considered a powerful military weapon. That is why the Prophet explained the verse in this manner. Now time has changed. Now the word ‘force’ will be taken as referring to those weapons which possess an effective military capacity today. The Prophet’s statement was only a timely commentary on the verse of the Quran to which he was referring. This shows that as far as worldly affairs are concerned, the basic teachings can be found in the Quran; but one is free to exercise independent judgement in their application. In this paper, I will deal only with the second category of Islamic commandments. This category can be subdivided into two parts: the first concerns the basic approach of Islam towards human affairs and the second is related to the legal framework which the Islamic Shariah offers for solving the problems of man. Here I will confine myself to the first aspect of the topic. WHAT IS TRUTH? The Quran states: “Had the truth followed their desires, the heavens, the earth, and all who dwell in them, would have surely been corrupted” (23:71). God’s scheme of creation is a perfect one. The whole universe, except man, is following this divine scheme. That is why; as the Quran points out that the universe is faultless (67:3). But man is free to act as he likes. He follows his desires and forsakes the true path. The result is corruption and disorder in the human world. Man’s perversion is the price of his freedom. The Islamic solution to the problems of man is the same as that which has been ordained for the rest of the universe. If man follows the path of truth, like the universe, he can produce the same spirit of peace and harmony which the cosmos already displays. The path of truth as opposed to the path of man’s desire can be understood from