Islam in the Modern World - 18th Century to the Present - Essay Example

? The Dawn of a New Era: Islam in the Modern World-18th Century to the Present. Islam canbe referred to a religion of peace and humanity and is destined to become a world religion. Almighty God has created this universe to spread the teachings of Islam from one end of the globe to other. Islam is a complete code of life that directs human beings to the right path and satisfies their spiritual as well as physical needs. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the social changes in Islam and intellectualism in Islam. The general features and deficiencies on the Islamic educational system, with its modernization effects will be deeply demonstrated in this paper. The idea of "Islamic Intellectualism" for the growth of original and adequate thoughts and teaching will be discussed. In Addition, the comprehensive guidelines on the teaching and interpretation of the holy Quran will be cited in this paper. The intellectual history of Islam and its significant contribution in the growth and prosperity of humanity proved that Islam is the only true and righteous religion. Muslims are also become modernized with the time and rapid social changes for the adaptation of needs. Almighty God made this world so therefore he must had made principles to the lead life according to his will because He is the only creator of this world (Rahman). God conveyed his message many time since the birth of earth taken place, but for the last time he send down a complete code of principles to lead the life successfully. Quran is a complete guideline for Muslims to sustain a life as per the teachings of Islam revealed upon the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw). Almighty God is the real writer of this holy Book, each word from the Quran is directly stated by God to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) to bring mankind forth from darkness to light. God has listed many events and untold stories of the earlier generation in this Holy Book. In addition, various policies, rules and regulations have been explored by the Almighty God for the social and moral improvement in mankind. As (Rahman) mentioned, "The Quran is a divine response, through the Prophet's mind, to the moral-social situation of the Prophet's Arabia". The educational system followed by the Islam depends upon the two concepts of the teachings of the Holy Quran. One is failure to differentiate between the general and specific responses to the particular historical events, and the other is by the interpretation of the holy Quran, which is mostly misdirected by the Muslim scholars to admit no social change or development (Rahman). God himself said in Quran, "Burden that was breaking your back" was relieved by the revelation (Ali). (94:1-3) The revelation of the holy Quran on the Holy Prophet (saw) was in the form of the verses announced by God's particular angel Gabriel (as). The text present in the holy book Quran refers to the literal words of God, which are in Arabic. These verses deal with all the areas concerning wisdom, doctrine, worship, and the relationship between the almighty God and human beings. It is a source of inspiration and divine guidance for each generation of Muslim Ummah (nation) as it is cited, "All revelation is a work of art and inspire a sense of beautiful and a sense of majesty" (Ali). The purpose of the final revelation of the holy Quran was to address the humanity and to convey the message of God. The major problem of all the conflicts occur among Muslims and Islam is the understanding of the Holy Quran as it is also mentioned in the text, "The imperfection and imprecision of these tools was due in turn to the lack of adequate method for understanding the Holy Quran itself"(Rahman). God Himself said in Quran, in Chapter "Al-Zumar" and Verse "41" "Verily, We have sent down to you (O Muhammad) the Book (this Qur’aan) for mankind in truth. So whosoever accepts the guidance, it is only for his own self; and whosoever goes astray, he goes astray only for his (own) loss. And you (O Muhammad) are not a Wakeel (trustee or disposer of affairs, or guardian) over them" (Ali). The general understandings of the Quran mostly contradict when an individual tries to go for the practical implementation but without the guidance of any scholar. The pressure exert by the modernists to enforce the social changes has an evident to worsened the respect of the Quran. While many Muslims, defended the traditional aspects of the Holy Quran and rejected the advocated modernity. God himself promised to protect the words of the Holy Quran until the Day of Judgment (Rahman). Interpretation of the Quran and the genesis of the Islamic community occurred against the social historical background of Islam. Quran gave a response to such critical incidents took place in history from moral, social, and religious point of view. The historical traditions will therefore be more an object of judgment for the new understanding than an aid on it. Sometimes Quran directly answer the question or problem and sometimes-in explicit or semi explicit ratio (Rahman). While there are many laws and rules enunciated from the verses of the Quran. If the results of the understandings failed to apply on the practical situation then, either there is a failure to assess the current situation properly or failure to interpret the meaning of the certain revelation. As mentioned in the text as Ijtehaad, "The effort to understand the meaning of the relevant text or precedent in the past, containing a rule, and to alter that rule by extending or restricting or otherwise modifying it in such a manner that a new situation can be subsumed under it by new solution"(Rahman). Holy Quran is the most influential factors for the interpretation or solution of any problem in contrast to Hadith, Ijma(census) or Qayas (reasoning) (Ali). If God prohibited something in his Holy Book, then no one can make it legal for another person for any reason. Words in the holy Quran are the most authentic and divine principles for all humanity. Islam and its all teachings are beyond the discrimination of color, cast or creed. In Islamic society nonbelievers are also allowed to take part in intellectual activities and they are also free to follow their own religion and customs (Rahman). Hypocrites had deliberately created such educational situations for the Muslims to demolish their customs and traditions including major rules and policies. Muslim society faced obscurity to educate their children in modern institutes. It is a global village in which we all live, and which we must confirm not only the intellectual resource of this world but also heritage and customs. Islam is a religion and area of moral and humanistic values that comprise the philosophies and doctrine of individuals (Rahman). The need for the educational development in Islam was observed for the growth and rise of Islamic Laws and legislation. Law enforcement was the first task after the arrival of Islam and the Holy Quran in Mecca to meet the judicial and administrative needs, followed by theologies. Gradually, stifling and complex attitude was developed among Muslims and other human beings, when distinction between "religious sciences" and "secular sciences" was made at the medieval period of Islamic education (Rahman). Muslims of the sub-continent have improved their vision of education for both men and women. They are coming closer to the standards of the modern discipline of Western traditions. However, Muslims remain underdeveloped in the fields of pure physics, technology and philosophical intellectualism. Various educational institutes were established in the sub-continent after 18th century including, girls colleges and universities (Rahman). The conflicts between the modernists and the conservatives have always been observed in the history of mankind as it is mentioned in given text, "The second general point to be remembered is that the thousand year-old Ulema tradition, despite its stagnation in the later centuries, ad nevertheless a rich and highly sophisticated heritage (Rahman). Some Muslim countries who lack modernization of the traditional religious training suffered from the same disintegration and decline in the medieval century's educational experience. Conclusion Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, having a majority of the population after Christianity with an important presence in Europe countries. Despite nationalism and secular ideologies, Muslims want to live their lives with modernization and intellectualism. Muslims never want to be dominated by the western world as Islam teaches the feelings of peace and harmony. On the contrast, it is perfectly assumed that Islamic world and western countries are entirely differing with each other in terms of religion, custom and traditions. Therefore, the only way to maximize interest is to building understanding and good relation with each other. In the current era, the Islamic world and the western world are debating over the learning, knowledge and experiences, yet west is overlooking the fact that Muslims barely have any educational history. Western world are now becoming more self-oriented as compared to the past centuries. Works Cited Ali, A. The Qur'an: Text, Translation, and Commentary. London: TTQ, INC., 1998. Rahman, F. Islam & Modernity: Transformation of an Intellectual Tradition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1984. Read More