Ahsan Akhtar

A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

    Islam is a progressive way of life, which asks its followers not to remain stagnant, but to remain in the pursuit of knowledge, growth and evolution. Quest for development and continuous growth is one of the basic objectives that are followed by Islam.

THE FOUNDATIONS

    Islam lays the foundation of a society which is continuously in a state of expansion, and which moves forward as well as carries forward. The history of the advent of Islam is a clear manifestation of the establishment of a progressive and thriving society.

    In contrast to these teachings of Islam, we see today that almost the whole of the Muslim world is in a state of stagnation or decline. A look at the recent history of Muslims would reveal that the real tragedy of the Muslims is their failure to move with the time - far from being progressive, far from giving a spiritual lead, they have become decadent and retrograded.

CONSERVATISM

    Apart from other things, one of the causes of this decline, discord and the failure to build a harmonious society is the irrational and unfounded extremist ideas and notions of some groups. On one extreme, we see a group who believes in inflexible conservatism and on the other a group who has adopted the norms of shallow modernism. Both of these schools of thought are the outcome of the lack of understanding and complete knowledge of the teachings of Qur'an.

    They are unaware of the fundamental teachings of Islam which asks its followers to be moderate, and which obliterates and abhors all kinds of extremism. Today Islam faces danger and misrepresentation from both these groups.

HINDERED PROGRESS

    Their animosity, antagonistic feelings for each other, and the militant behaviour have not only caused friction and chaos in many of the Muslim countries, but have also created seemingly irreversible paranoia and hatred between these groups, and have brought bad name to Islam. More sadly, it has hindered growth and progress of the Muslim nations in almost every sphere of life.

    While the ideas and passiveness of one group have impeded development, the actions of the other group have caused disarray and decay of the society.

    The inflexible traditional ideas of one extremist group have gone too far in relating everything old to Islam, when in reality it may have no relation to true Islam. These kind of ideas and their inability to adjust to the present times have given an excuse to ignorant progressives to count Islam as a religion against progress and development.

BLIND IMITATION

    On the other hand, the blind imitation and aping of the Western materialistic society have led to the belief amongst the naive progressives that prosperity lives in adapting the customs, traditions and life-style of the Western society. As a consequence of this belief, the conservatives look pessimistically and with suspicion at everything new, and consider it as a threat to Islam.

    Moreover, the adamant attitude of the conservatives not only alternates Islam, but is also spreading indifference and lack of interest in religion. Today to have strong religious convictions are considered by many to be narrow-minded and dogmatic.

    However, while believing to progress with time, one should not fail to note the decline in moral values and a rising tide of atheism that is brought about with the passage of time. Undoubtedly, the advance of science and technology, particularly in the last five decades, has taken great strides and has reached new horizons. But, it does.
 
    There is no denying that keeping up with time will lead to progress, but it is not as simple as some people think. With the advance of time there is both progress and going astray. With time one should propel forward and progress, but should also keep a watch on being led astray by time. In order to achieve development and to advance with time without deviating from the right path, it is essential to discriminate between the two, and to understand the origins of the new phenomena, as well as, its new direction.
It should be recognized that Islam does not hinder progress and evolution, nor it comes in the way of adapting the modern norms or improving the living standards associated with the advance of time, provided they are within the boundaries of Islam. In fact, Islam does not meddle with the growth and progress leading to better life in this world, rather it asks its followers to seek knowledge and consistently remain in the pursuit of evolution.

    Islamic teachings are mainly concerned with the meaning and objectives of life and tell about the best course of action one should adopt to achieve the aims of life. Acquiring knowledge and the quest for development do not alter the aim of life, rather it places in the control of man various resources and provides him with the understanding of effective utilization of these resources to attain the aims of life.

    Thus, Islam by giving over the forms and tools to the realm to knowledge, and keeping the aim under its own authority has kept itself away from all the conflict with the development of culture and civilization.

    Moreover, by encouraging the factors which are important for the development of culture and civilization, such as science, labour, determination and perseverance on one hand, and asking its followers to develop the qualities of piety, honesty, modesty and humanity on the other, has guaranteed the fundamental structure for the development of civilization and a progressive society.