Islâm

by Syed Ameer Ali

Suicide Unusual in Islâm.—The belief that the human soul will have to render to its Creator an account of how it has carried out in this life the duties imposed on it has had one important result on Moslem society, the significance of which has often escaped the notice of non-Moslem writers. It has inspired the Moslem with a sense of dignity and feeling of responsibility, which have made self-destruction practically unknown in Islâm.

Suicide was as common among the pagan Arabs as it is now in Christendom. Ecclesiasticism attempted to prevent self-destruction by attaching the most cruel penalties to the offence. The body of a felo-de-se could not be interred in consecrated ground; it could only be buried surreptitiously in the dark hours of the night by the roadside where four cross roads met, with a stake through it; his family were subjected to ignominy. None of these forcible rules are needed in Islâm. The belief that divine help is always nigh to relieve the distressed, to help the suffering, to assist the forsaken, arrests the hand of the most despondent or desperate, the most sick and weary with life, from taking his or her own life. Whilst the idea of appearing in the presence of the Almighty Judge before the Summons has come acts as the strongest deterrent to self-destruction. The Moslem will fight even unto death, but will never take his own life, which he regards as a trust from God. Never backward or hesitant in the performance of his duty, he considers it an act of cowardice to fly from personal danger or present unhappiness by putting an end to his existence.

Idea of Corporeal Resurrection.—As in Christianity, some Moslems believe in corporeal resurrection, others do not. Some believe that God can be seen by corporeal sight, others entirely deny it. But all believe that when the human souls are gathered up in the Great Account, the Divine Presence will enfold the Universe.

These outlines represent in brief the Islâmic conception of man’s relation to God. Regarding his duties towards himself and his fellow beings it is probably more emphatic and certainly more explicit than any other older system. It denounces self-indulgence, insists upon self-discipline, and makes self-restraint a part of the religious law.

The Ethical Code of Islâm.—The ethical code of Islâm is summarised as follows in the fourth chapter (Sura) of the Koran: ‘Come, I will rehearse what your Lord hath enjoined on you: that ye assign not to Him a partner; that ye be good to your parents; and that ye slay not your children because of poverty; for them and for you We will provide; and that ye come not near to pollutions, outward or inward; and that ye slay not a soul whom God hath forbidden unless by right ... and draw not nigh to the wealth of the orphan, save so as to better it ... and when ye pronounce judgment then be just, though it be the affair of a kinsman. And God’s compact fulfil ye; that is, what He hath ordained to you, Verily this is My right way; follow it then.’... ‘Blessed are they who believe and humbly offer their thanksgiving to their Lord ... who are constant in their charity, and who guard their chastity, and who observe their trust and covenants.... Verily, God bids you do justice and good and give to kindred their due; and He forbids you to sin and do wrong and oppress.’

Fasting.—Periodical fasting is prescribed as a lesson in the exercise of the subjugation of the senses. Its practical usefulness is most perceptible among coarser natures, for whom in reality it was intended as a measure of discipline of the highest value. ‘O ye that have believed, a fast is ordained to you ... that ye may practise piety, a fast of a computed number of days. But he among you who shall be ailing, or on a journey (shall fast) an equal number of other days; and they that are able to keep it (and do not) shall make atonement by maintaining a poor man.’

Prohibition of Wine.—Islâm characterises drink as ‘the mother of all wickedness,’ and inebriation, a sin. The prohibition of drunkenness has saved the lower strata of Mussulmans from the degradation and misery which so constantly meet the eye in Western countries; and from the crimes that are usually committed under its effect. We do not hear of parents maddened by drink murdering their offspring; of human beings turning into beasts under the influence of liquor.

Asceticism.—Men and women are not called upon to abandon the world or to practise asceticism in order to attain heavenly life. God has placed human beings on earth that they may work, do their duty by His creatures, and further the Divine purpose. To withdraw oneself from the service of man is to forsake the dictates of duty.

The Dignity of Labour.—The dignity of labour is recognised in express terms; and the man who earns his living by ‘the sweat of his brow’ is a far better being than one who does not work for his daily sustenance.