Xahra Posts: July 2021

Thursday, July 8, 2021

Lawful Enjoyment

Some of our fellow Muslims, believe in hard work and they remain really busy with important stuff that they forget to take out time for enjoyment and entertainment, something they feel 'unimportant' or could be delayed until the weekend or next vacation.

On the other hand, we have our youth feeling bored with religion, everything they enjoy doing is actually "haram". Mostly they inevitably perceive religion as boring, difficult, and unenjoyable. Acting on religion means to them leaving this world and its enjoyment.

For some people following religious values implies following rituals of Islam only, while Islam is a complete code of life that has shown us the right path and balanced strategy in every sphere of our lives. As we know, moderation is the key in life, taking out time for enjoyments is not only healthy but we have been advised about it too.

Let us look into the religious perspective. We have this famous hadith of the seventh Imam.

Imam Musa b. Ja‘far (as):

"Try to divide your time into four parts. The first part should be dedicated to (secret) supplication to Allah, the second to seeking earnings, the third to associating with the friends and the trusty people who show you your defects and treat you sincerely, and the fourth to your legal pleasures. Through this part, you can manage the other three parts. Do not think of poverty and long age. He who thinks of poverty will be stingy and he who thinks of long age will be acquisitive. Offer a share of the worldly pleasures to yourselves by enjoying moderately the legal pleasures that do not injure your personality. Make such pleasures help you fulfill your religious duties perfectly. It is said that “As for those who neglect the legal worldly pleasures completely and adhere to the religious duties or neglect the religious duties and adhere to the worldly affairs, they are not from us." [1]

How eloquently, Imam has described dedicating a time for enjoyment! Take a break from your daily chores and spend some portion of your day for halal recreations. Islam was not sent to make people machines doing rituals and neglecting their needs. It channelizes our natural desires. Islam guides us on what halal and haram and it pushes us to enjoy the halal. Islam is not against pleasure or amusement. It only sets boundaries, it provides red lines. It shows us the right ways to enjoy so that our pleasure is not harmful to our body and soul. It bestows the guidelines of fun so the rights of other people are protected in society.

Further to describe its importance, Imam emphasized how this time for pleasure would be beneficial to you. It would recharge your body to do other important tasks. It would help us in daily stress management.

We have various ways to enjoy our lives daily and it would vary from person to person. It would depend upon the natural interests, preferences, and likes of everybody. It encompasses reading, sports, traveling, dining out, spending time in nature, artistic hobbies like painting and poetry, watching TV (lawful stuff of course), playing with kids, and having fun with your spouse. Spending quality time with your family is sometimes obligatory for us.

Considering the recent trends we see amongst people to enjoy, it is noteworthy to mention, gluing to "screens" or addiction to gadgets, for the most part of your day is not the kind of "fun" that is healthy, physically and mentally. Now we see physicians and psychologists warning us about the need for "gadget-free family time". How badly excessive screen exposure is deteriorating our relationships. We should be taking out time for pleasurable activities that actually boost our morale and make us fresh and relaxed. Taking the halal pleasures from this world is a kind of worship also, as we are obeying the commands of Allah (SWT). Lawful fun does not mean forgetting Allah (SWT) and our purpose of creation rather it is in-lined with the goal of life. Happiness achieved from lawful enjoyment would be eternal, which would be beneficial to the believers in the hereafter too.

[1] "The fourteen luminaries of Islam" by Ahmad Ahmadi Birjandi

We don't need to prove the authenticity of religion from science

Many times, I have seen this approach online and in real life as well, that people associate religious commandments with scientific research and then boast about the authenticity of religion. 'Look! science is telling us this today while our religion informed us about it fourteen hundred years ago. Wow! What a true religion we have!

As a humble student of science and religion, I would like to say, this approach is irrational and it does not prove anything. It seems that you trust science more than you believe in revelation. This approach is dangerous and wrong. Are we going to accept a religious principle if it is proven by science? It is a possibility that we may find many principles and commandments of religion that are approved by scientific studies but it should be taken as a coincidence only, instead of trying to prove the validity of religion through science. Similarly pondering over religious commandments is another thing, and proving the authenticity of religious commandments through scientific research would be a biased strategy.

The domain of religion is "metaphysics" while science deals with 'physics' and 'matter'. We should not be proving one domain from another. We should be taking advantage and benefits of both domains instead of crossing over the domains without the specialized knowledge of either domain. Real religious scholars like our 'Marja' never interfere or pass opinions about domains they don't belong to! Covid-19 virus, its vaccination, and all the myths and conspiracy theories surrounding it is a recent example of how unnecessary involvement in different domains leads people astray.

Quran tells us

كَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا فِيكُمْ رَسُولًا مِنْكُمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْكُمْ آيَاتِنَا وَيُزَكِّيكُمْ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمْ مَا لَمْ تَكُونُوا تَعْلَمُونَ {151}

[Shakir 2:151] We have sent among you a Messenger from among you who recites to you Our communications and purifies you and teaches you the Book and the wisdom and teaches you that which you did not know.

Prophet introduces you to what you could not know. If there were no prophets, we could not have access to many branches of knowledge. They are not only leaders at the moral and social levels but also leaders in all fields of knowledge. Without their guidance, no field of knowledge would have been properly established.

It is obvious that scientific research changes with time, with conditions, advancements, with new inventions. Classical physics laws are no longer obeyed in Quantum physics. Matter changes its properties at the nanoscale. The fundamentals, principles, and commandments of religion do not change. Any deed described as 'lawful' (halal) by Prophet Muhammad (SAWW) will remain lawful until the Day of Judgement while any act described as 'unlawful' (haram) by the last Prophet will be unlawful until Resurrection Day. Any practice, no matter, how much science emphasizes its importance and benefits through various studies (let's take homosexuality as an example) and experiments, cannot find any place in religion. It is irrational and illogical to prove religion from Science. It is itself a biased approach. If you find any scientific research in accordance with beliefs, you praise it, and what would be your reaction if it is against religious principles? Would you accept it? or would you reject it? if you accept it you are going against the divine teachings, if you reject it, it depicts your biased approach and already predefined criteria of acceptance!

It is evident that not using science as a tool for proving religion does not imply that religion is against science or that Muslims do not need to excel and progress in different scientific disciplines.

This content was produced after taking inspiration from this video

Islam and Science | Do we need science to prove the existence of God?

Dr. Sayyed Rehan Naqvi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eL6rsHfdKQ