A Moral Understanding of Al-Ihsān (3) As for the problem of historical change and the potential constant evolution of what is ‘fair and just’, we need to recall that historical circumstances govern most ethical rules. New, unprecedented ethical rules will have to be introduced in the light of new developments in human society, and new ethical rules, of which we have yet no knowledge, will have to be created in the future. Today, we are asked to apply the principle of hanīfiyya to our contemporary community (milla), which we do by following the example of the community of Abraham. In order to achieve this, Allah has given us the principles of moral behaviour, its foundation and ethical boundaries, but He has left it to us to formulate ethical rules according to the idea of hanīfiyya. Exactly how this is done is a matter of historical variance and differs from one place to another and from one historical period to the next. ‘Doing what is fair and just’ in terms of working in a factory, for example, depends on the existing conditions of production. And the conditions of production are often troublesome and oppressive; so we hear the Book calling: “So establish weight with justice and fall not short in the balance.” (Al-Rahmān 55:9). This implies, however, that the conditions of production might change and develop, primarily because of the effects of scientific and technological progress. Means of transport and the driving conditions differed tremendously between the late and the early twentieth century. We need to be aware that if we applied the same old rules of driving today with our current means of transport and much-improved infrastructure, we would be in danger of ceasing to be ‘those who do righteous things’ because, as we said before, this would not apply the principle of hanīfiyya of Abraham’s community. Its core message is to take historical change into consideration and to adapt the concept of ‘doing what is fair and just’ to the actual conditions of the time and the place in which it is to be practiced. The two verses of Sūrat al-Baqara and Sūrat al-Nisā stipulate that whoever submits his whole self to God is ‘doing what is fair and just’ on condition that the principle of hanīfiyya is applied to his ethics. The following verse articulates this idea nicely by giving us the example of a prosperous, thriving person who has a firm grip on the rope that Allah has given him: “Whoever submits his whole self to God, and is a doer of good, has grasped indeed the most trustworthy hand-hold; and with God rests the end and decision of (all) affairs. (Luqmān 31:22) Finally we want to stress again that the need to develop an understanding of ‘doing what is fair and just’ (fiqh al-ihsān) for all spheres of life is the biggest challenge that contemporary Arab believers face. As believers we need to be familiar with ‘doing what is fair and just’, its underlying principle of hanīfiyya and its fundamental condition to believe in Allah and the Hereafter. We need to realize that such familiarity is the only way to avoid remaining isolated and outside history, outside civilization and outside the center of the world’s creative powers. If we continue to give priority to our prayers and the fast of Ramadan, to hide our women behind the hijāb, and to grow our beards, that is, if we continue to be obsessed with the superficialities of external behaviour and appearance, we will stay backward and remain a miserable, humiliated nation. If we do not implement the concept of ‘doing what is fair and just’ and the principle of hanīfiyya with all its different practical implications in our daily life, if we do not socialize our youth in this spirit, and if we do not replace the traditional manuals of religious rituals (fiqh al-sha‘āʼir) with the new practices of fiqh al-ihsān we will, in the long run, achieve absolutely nothing.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 07:28:27 +0000
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