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Why does Sharî’ah reject this civilisation? {What we refer to as 'civilisation' are the virtues of civilisation and its goodness that are beneficial to mankind; it is not the sins and evils of it. The fools imitated the sins and dissipation of civilisation by supposing them to be virtues, and they destroyed what belongs to us. Due to the sins of civilisation prevailing over its goodness and its evil being preferred to its virtue, mankind received two ghastly slaps, and the sinful civilisation was demolished by two world wars; mankind vomited it out so violently that it stained the face of the earth with blood. InshâAllah, with the strength of Islam in the future, the virtues of civilisation will prevail, cleanse the face of the earth from filth and establish general peace.}
I said: It has been founded on five negative principles. Its point of support is force, and the necessary consequence of it is transgression. Its aim is benefit, and the necessary consequence of it is jostling. Its principle in life is conflict, and the necessary consequence of it is collision. Its bond that ties the masses to each other is racism and negative nationalism, which is nourished through devouring others, and the necessary consequence of it is such a severe clash. Its enticing service is to encourage, facilitate and satisfy the desires, appetites and wants of nafs. And as for the desires of nafs, the necessary consequence of encouraging them is to degrade humanity from the exalted level of malâikah to the lowest level of a dog. It is to cause man to change, in a ma’nawî manner1 , into a beast (maskh). A majority of these civilised individuals would appear to be draped in the skins of wolves, bears, snakes, pigs and monkeys if they were turned inside out.
It is for this reason that the current civilisation has thrown eighty per cent of mankind into difficulties and misery, and it elevated ten per cent to a false happiness and left the remaining ten per cent in the middle. True happiness is that which brings joy to the majority or most of the people; however, this happiness is only for the smallest minority. The Qur'an, which is rahmah to all mankind, can only accept a civilisation that guarantees happiness for all, or at least the majority.
Moreover, under the dominance of the freed desires of nafs, non-essential needs have become essential needs. While a man in Bedouin life needed only four things, civilisation has made him need a hundred things and cast him into poverty. Since the work performed for a livelihood does not cover expenses, this civilisation has led man to haram and cheating, thereby corrupting the foundation of morality. Despite the wealth and glory that it bestowed upon the community and mankind, it has rendered individuals poor and immoral.
This civilisation vomited the accumulated savagery of previous eras all at once.
1 Maskh literally means changing a man into a beast — that is, metamorphosis.
As an Islamic term, maskh is of two sorts. First is material maskh, which refers to the nations of former prophets being transformed into animals such as monkeys. The second is ma’nawî maskh, whereby man is transformed in a ma’nawî sense into a beast regarding his morals, rûh and heart, as reported to the ummah by the hadiths concerning the fitnah of the âkhirzaman and the signs of the qiyâmah. Below are some examples:
يَكُونُ فِي آخِرِ أُمَّتِي خَسْفٌ وَمَسْخٌ وَقَذْفٌ
“At the end of my ummah, there will be the collapsing of the earth (khasf), transformations (maskh) and the throwing of stones (qadhf).” — Sunan Ibn Majah, 4060.
فِي هَذِهِ الأُمَّةِ خَسْفٌ وَمَسْخٌ وَقَذْفٌ " . فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَمَتَى ذَاكَ قَالَ " إِذَا ظَهَرَتِ الْقَيْنَاتُ وَالْمَعَازِفُ وَشُرِبَتِ الْخُمُورُ
“In this ummah, there shall be the collapsing of the earth (khasf), transformations (maskh) and the throwing of stones (qadhf).” A man among the Muslims asked, “O Rasûl of Allah, when is that?” He replied, “When singing girls and musical instruments spread and intoxicants are consumed.” — Jami` at-Tirmidhi, 2212. (Tr.)