Vibrant Colours & Shades Created By Allah

In response to one of the articles (ALIGARIANS: Dividing Dunyaa From Deen) a respectable gentleman asks “do they have hearts large enough to accommodate different opinions or want to paint the entire world in white instead of the vibrant colours, hues and shades that (has) Allah created?” This is a genuine concern and worth pondering upon. There is, however, a presupposition in the above assertion. The gentleman assumes that by doing away with the divide between dunyaa and deen we will lose the vibrancy of colours and the world will become monotonous. This presupposition puts a very big question mark on our understanding of Islam. Because of this unwritten huge question mark I argue that the ‘modern’ educated have a self-doubt which is the by-product of the division between dunyaa and deen and between deeni and dunyaawi (knowledge).

This is an age of the truncated perception of Islam and lopsided approach towards it. There is an urgent need to move towards the holistic vision of Islam. There is an urgent need to reach out to the crux and the essence of it – knowing very well that selective and whimsical quoting from texts is the biggest hindrance in this path. Islam stands for everything beautiful in life. It enriches life beyond imagination. It seeks to embellish life with many colours instead of destroying it and running away with its beautiful shades. The problem is not with Islam. It is with its exposition and our understanding of it. Instead of correcting our discourse about Islam we seek to banish it from the “social aspects of the discussion”.

If, however, we are able to do away with the duality of dunyaa and deen (from our minds) and deeni and dunyaawi ‘uloom (sciences) it will remove the self-doubt of the ‘modern’ educated. What will be the impact of the abolition of this duality? It will foster EXCELLENCE among those who pursue the ‘modern’ sciences. Then we will not require two separate streams of knowledge and education. Ultimately, it will bring more vibrant colours, hues and shades – more than we can currently imagine of. Just the contrary to what we are presently apprehensive of. It is the excellence which is missing now.

For a paradigm shift, we have to promote a culture of revising our deep rooted notions which we have picked up randomly from the environment and are repeatedly uttering them without reconsidering them. We are merely passing them on to others without living with them for a while. The only way-out for us is to stop at all our assertions – with utmost humbleness and patience. Let us develop a culture of sharing our weaknesses openly. Nothing should stop us from doing our best to reach out to the truth.