ISLAM IN THE CHANGING WORLD

This division between the two is not made on the basis of superiority or inferiority. It is based, rather, on biological differences. It is a fact that by birth, the female is the more delicate and emotional while the male is the tougher sex. As such, in everyday matters both have been assigned such duties as are suited to their respective biological composition. Such a division—a practical necessity—is to be found in all societies. A similar division can also exist between men and men and between women and women in relation to their biological dispositions. That is why in the practical arrangements of life, each gender has been assigned a role suitable to their biological structure. This division is in no way anachronistic. It is simply in accord with nature. Nature has created certain differences between men and women by birth. This biological difference is such a decisive factor that those societies which refuse to accept it in theory are obliged in to perpetuate this same division in practice, thanks to the overwhelming pressures of nature. In many countries in spite of complete freedom given to women, it has not proved possible to abolish this division. Till today, many extremely physically demanding jobs are largely dominated by men. Women however, have secured their place in the relatively less onerous and less stressful departments. When women, for example, can move their fingers delicately over the keyboards of computer, why should there be any mention even of them engaging in heavy manual work in factories? The realities of biology have to be given due recognition. In short, the concept of revision is not relevant to Islam. Revision, after all, implies that out of ignorance, mistakes have been made in the laying down of Islamic precepts and that after the subsequent acquisition of superior knowledge, man is now in a position to set them right. But this is simply not true of Islam. Islam is a religion of nature, and just as there is no question of revising nature, neither is there any question of revising Islam. Re-interpretation of the scriptures may be the need of the hour, but this certainly does not mean changing the original system. All it means is a re-application of the original commands so that they may accord more exactly with the changed circumstances. This kind of fresh interpretation—always a requirement of Islam in the past—will remain a requirement in the present and in the future. o Islam is a religion of nature, and just as there is no question of revising nature, neither is there any question of revising Islam.