Islam and Community

 Islam and Community

The community (Ummah) in Islam is not founded on race, nationality, locality,

occupation, kinship, or special interests. It does not take its name after the name of a

leader or a founder or an event. It transcends national borders and political boundaries.

The foundation of the community in Islam is the attitude that designates submission to

the Will of Allah, obedience to His Law, and commitment to His Cause. In short, an

Islamic community is present only when it is nourished and fostered by Islam. Its

foundation is the family.

The Islamic community has a historic mission far beyond mere survival, sheer

power, breeding, or physiological continuity. Such a mission is described in the Quran as

follows:

Surah 3, Ayah 104 “Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is

good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong: They are the ones to

attain felicity.”

Surah 3, Ayah 110 “Ye are the best of peoples, evolved for mankind, enjoining what

is right, forbidding what is wrong, and believing in Allah.”

The historic role of the Islamic community is to be the embodiment of the

virtuous, the wholesome, and the noble. A truly Islamic community is the alert guardian

of virtue and the bitter enemy of evil. What is required from the community at large is

likewise required from every individual member. This is because the whole community is

an entity with every member accountable to Allah. The statement of the Prophet (Pbuh)

best describes the role of the individual Muslim:

“Whoever of you sees something wrong must seek to rectify it by action or deed; if

he cannot, let him try to change it by word; if he cannot, let his feelings of disapproval

and condemnation intensify and this is the minimal degree of faith.”

As we see, this description is very significant and comprehensive. In this age of

revolutionary media, no one in his right mind can underestimate the power of corrected

actions, or the power of communication by words, or the power of feelings.

The historic role of the Islamic community is further restated in the Quran:

Surah 2, Ayah 143 “Thus, have We made of you an Ummah justly balanced, that ye

might be witnesses over the nations, and the Messenger a witness over yourselves.”

Such a role of witnessing is both highly significant and extremely demanding. It

means that the community of Islam must be exemplary. It must set the highest standard

of morality and be the reference point of others. It must avoid excesses and

extravagances and static rigidity. To strike a middle course of action, to be steadfast and

consistent, to know what to accept and what to reject, to have morals and at the same

time remain adaptable is probably the hardest test of human character and social

viability. But this is the role of the Islamic community and the historic mission of Muslims.

And it is the very criterion that qualifies the Muslim as the best human community ever to

evolve.

With regard to the continuity of the Islamic community, certain points are noteworthy.

It is the duty of Muslims to do everything within their means to ensure that continuity.

The rules of marriage and inheritance, the duties of charity and pilgrimage, the human

rights and obligation of kin, the individual conscientiousness and social belongings - all

these are oriented towards the healthy continuity of the community in Islam. On the other

hand, God has pledged to protect this community in several ways.

1. First, He pledges to preserve and protect the Quran that is the source of all wisdom.

This also means that there shall always be a community to follow the Quran; the

Quran shall not be without followers even though there are followers of other books.

2. Second, Islam itself is continuity. Whenever a nation deviated from the path of Allah,

He restated His word, reaffirmed His Truth, and commissioned new reformers to

carry on.

3. Thirdly, Allah has issued a strong warning to the effect that if Muslims turned away

from the right path, they would be the losers, and Allah would replace them by

righteous people, Surah 47, Ayah 38.

Again, the believers are warned that if they neglect their faith, soon God will

produce people whom He will love and they will love Him, humble towards the believers

and strong against the unbelievers, fighting in the way of God, and never afraid of

reproaches, Surah 5, Ayah 54.