Stressing the need for dispensing justice and ensuring rule of law, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday said that many nations were destroyed due to discrimination between the powerful and weak segments in their societies.
Talking to a number of eminent Muslim scholars online, Imran said that only those countries can survive and flourish where the rule of law is established, adding that dispensing justice and ensuring rule of law were the hallmark of a civilised society. He said that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) raised the level of ethics and morality of society to make Muslims a great nation.
He said the Prophet (PBUH) emphasised on the implementation of rule of law in Riyasat-e-Madina, adding that “only those societies prosper who have a rule of law without any discrimination”. Imran said that those who follow the teachings and footsteps of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) would be prosperous.
He urged Muslim scholars to play their due role in creating awareness about the steps of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) among the youth so they could follow them in their lives. Speaking on the occasion, the scholars stressed upon the inculcation of core moral and ethical values in society, as enunciated by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Prominent scholars, including Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah, Dr Timothy Winter/Abdal Hakim Murad, Dr Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Dr Recep Senturk, Dr Osman Bakar and Dr Chandra Muzaffar responded to questions about different aspects of the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and their need with respect to contemporary challenges posed to the Muslim youth and society. The dialogue was held by Rehmatul-lil-Alameen Authority.
During the conversation, the scholars endorsed PM Imran Khan’s observation that a society could not thrive and achieve prosperity without rule of law and justice, the basic principles which were strictly practised by the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and his companions in Riyasat-e-Madina.
Dr Seyyed Hossein Nasr, a professor of Islamic studies at the George Washington University, responding to the prime minister’s query, said that the Muslim world faced certain changes during the last century.
He stressed that the sunnah of Holy Prophet (PBUH) should be followed as uswa hasana (an excellent model of conduct), adding that the model of Riyasat-e-Madina was critical for the revival of Muslim society.
Dr Nasr maintained that Islam through the sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) spread the message which transformed the sturdy-hearted Arabs. “The Holy Prophet (PBUH) presented the message of Allah to an audience that gave their whole thoughts to it and spent their lives to achieve them,” he added.
“Madina was the first Islamic society and it was a golden period of Islam, the foundation of which was laid down by the Holy Prophet (PBUH). That period remained ideal for us and we have to learn from it,” he opined.
American scholar Shaykh Hamza Yusuf said that the Holy Prophet (PBUH) raised the values of ethics first, then justice and rule of law served as a basis for the culmination of a civilised society.
He said that ethics and morals did not come from a vacuum; these qualities included honesty, modesty and integrity. “The Prophet (PBUH) was the physician of the hearts. The people around him were called Ashabs (companions),” he added.
He said the treatment of all ills in society had been identified in the Quranic teachings, which provided solutions to these ills. He also stressed that people in power and authority must embody the key ethics which should be part of their character.
Scholar Dr Timothy Winter/Abdal Hakim Murad of the Cambridge shared his experience of visiting the Al-Quds and said that it was the spiritual alchemy that the Holy Prophet (PBUH) infused among his followers, enabling them to build an ideal society and beautiful buildings around the world. He said that it was too difficult to put into words the vast aspects of the life of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). Dr Murad said that Muslims should not comply with the sunnah robotically.
