Response to negative reports from the media regarding Islamic regimes

Q: I am very saddened by the way the media is reacting to Islamic Shariah and people want to run away from Islamic regimes.

From a practical point of view, how are women to be treated as per Shariah law so that they get proper education and are able to practice and follow an Islamic regime.

A:

1. By the grace of Allah Ta`ala the Islamic regimes that ran according to the shariah for approximately over a thousand years, the extent of their prosperity was such that the west still has to dream of such prosperity. In nearly all western countries, just the good side is shown and portrayed, and people living in squatter camps and slumps, living on the streets in poverty and starvation are not at all shown. During the Islamic rule, there were many occasions when the wealthy could not find any takers and recipients for the wealth that they were distributing.

2. There are women who cry for days and months wishing to live proper Islamic lives, and many a time they have challenges from their governments, such as France, England etc. They cannot practice their deen freely, and many a time there are impediments from family and household members. If it was difficult you would not have had women aspiring for this. There are women who do not wish to be taking a step into universities and high schools but are forced by parents, teachers and peer pressure. In most western institutes, a large percent of women complain of being harassed and they can only gain promotion if they are prepared to see their seniors right. They have to rob themselves of their purity and chastity just for scraps of paper. Unfortunately, this information is not at all publicised. Many a time, in a prime minister's office, a woman feels very insecure.

And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.

 

Answered by:

Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)