May Allah SWT guard us all against excessiveness and extremism and direct us toward the straight path.
Ibn Masud said: "Ruin is caused by two traits - pride and despair. Happiness cannot be attained without effort and a struggle. A vain person does not make any effort, because he believes that he is perfect, a despairing person does not make effort because he believes it is useless."
Those who do not live for Islam and for its propagation and do not partake in the problems and hardships that beset the Muslim nations are self-centred. Such people have no right to tell those who believe in Islam and live by it that they are wrong and should change. And if they seize that right by force, no one will ever listen to them.
This book explores extremism among muslims. It must be stressed that there is no extremism in Islam. It is only the muslims who are extremist.... or are they?
Yusuf al Qaradawi tries to answer this.
Extremism is the furthest point from the centre. This is totally against the characteristics of Islam. In fact moderation and balance is a fundamental trademark of Islam. Allah SWT says in the Quran:-
"Thus we have made you an ummah justly balanced, that you might be witnesses over the nations, and the Messenger is a witness over yourselves." (2:143)
Qaradawi goes on to give examples from the Quran and Sunnah to amplify this point.
Extremism does not only apply to those who are over zealous in interpreting the Quran but equally also to those who disregard Islam as a way of life. Lack of knowledge, comprehensive knowledge, can lead to extremism.
The apparent lack of will power by the powers that be, to uphold the syariah and propagate Islam pushes away the youths striving for the cause of Islam. Any request to uphold the syariah is met with punitive force or disregarded. The religious authorities turn a deaf ear to the cries of the youth and are cohorts of the ruling elite and are thus despised and not trusted. How then can they stand with authority in front of the ummah and expect the ummah to listen to them? On the contrary, everything they say will fall on deaf ears.
These are some of the issues discussed. The question that begs an answer is: "What is the remedy?". It is perhaps best to quote al Qaradawi himself:-
"No one can possibly deny that the official religious establishments in the Muslim world can indeed play a positive role by giving guidance and genuine Islamic knowledge to the young, if the establishments were free to manage their own affairs without interference from people in power. However, in the absence of that freedom they remain lifeless skeletons."
I found this book enlightening. It gave me a better understanding of certain Islamic percepts. As seekers of truth and knowledge, our quest will never be over. For we are on a journey till we meet our Lord, Allah SWT.
