We are living in a revolutionary era; the drastic progress of technology and telecommunication is overwhelming, where geographical boundaries are eliminated; racial differences have dissolved; and language variations are no longer a hurdle. A joke is cracked in the West and instantly laughed at in the East.
People have benefited immensely from this innovative advancement of technology in their worldly and religiously matters. But, sadly, there were some, who exploited such fast development in an abominable manner, which reflected negatively upon people’s faith, life, intellect, progeny and wealth.
Unfortunately, the greatest share of onslaught and mockery was targeted toward faith in general and Islam in specific.
In this article, I will present two methods, which you may use to debunk the anti-Islam presented doubts. The first method is based on using general arguments, which are practically utilized to dismantle several doubts using the same arguments; and the second method is detailed arguments, which are deployed to disprove specific doubts.
If these two methods are put to good use by a wise Muslim, he will easily silence the riotous atheist; guide the confused agnostic; convince the stubborn deist; escort the skeptic Muslim to safety; and consolidate the faith of the confident Muslim InshaAllāh.
Let us take the following doubt as a sample and see how to handle it using the general method first, which can be applied against an array of doubts.
If someone asks: “Why does Islam allow males to inherit double the share of females?”
Allāh legislated in the Qur’an:
يُوصِيكُمُ اللَّهُ فِي أَوْلَادِكُمْ لِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ الْأُنثَيَيْنِ
Allāh instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females. [Surah an-Nisa, Ayah 11]
First Method: General Arguments
Before directly answering the doubt in detail, which may prolong the argument with the opposing party, you may ask the doubter the following:
“Can you kindly tell me; based on what criteria are you concluding that this ruling is unfair?”
If he says: “It’s obvious!”
Ask him: “Obvious? Based on what criteria? Certainly, you are comparing something to something.”
If he says: “It is logically sound and the mind mandates to equalize between males and females.”
Say to him: “Whose mind are you using?”
If you are going to lean on the mind in your argument, allow me to surprise you with this fact. More than 1.7 billion Muslim, males and females, do not have intellectually the slightest opposition to this ruling. In fact, they believe that this is the most just and fit ruling, which demonstrates the completeness and comprehensiveness of the Islamic legislation and that it is applicable for all times and places. For the past fourteen centuries, despite the Muslim nation had gone through many tribulations, Muslims accepted this ruling by consensus. Not until recently, we started to hear some dissonant voices, which are influenced by the western life style, who attempted to reproduce a version of Islam to comply with the western values; and they ended up producing a mutilated Islam, which is close in its identity more to the West than to Islam.
And if he says: “The criterion I used is the modernity and values presented by the civilized West, which I believe to be the most ideal and must be an exclusive reference for values.”
Say to him: “Who said that the Western values are sound and fair criteria to lean on for evaluating others? Especially, when we see their subjective moral and ethical values are perpetually unstable. What was deemed as wicked and taboo yesterday became good and permissible the next day. Ex: Homosexuality was an unacceptable repugnant behavior few decades back, but today it is not only normal, but same-sex marriage is surprisingly approved by federal law and blessed by the church itself. Cannabis (marijuana or hash) was banned few years back today it is allowed in some Western countries[1].”
Sadly, the West is rapidly declining morally in a worrying and appalling manner!
Do you want to know how rapid values are declining in the west and how far in perversion they have gone?!
A famous conservative Christian youtuber was asking people in the streets of a city in California: how they felt about incest? Surprisingly, the majority did not even show facial disgust by the question and displayed no objection of the idea, their only concern was not to procreate! SubhanAllāh!
Tell me, which values are you talking about, when we see it leading to the utter dismantle of family life, loss of morals, lack of security, disturbance of tranquility and spread of mental and psychological disorder in an unprecedented manner. In fact, the crime rates are at its pinnacle. It highly exceeded the rates found in the third world developing countries, who are generally looked down upon as being uncivilized. Homicide, theft, suicide, rape and sexual harassment are common daily news.
French President Macron mentioned lately with sorrow how domestic violence against women is overwhelmingly high and that every 3 days a woman is killed either by her partner or ex-partner[2]. Of course, all that due to the wide spread of infidelity (spouse cheating) and not putting strict laws to deter such practices[3]. This rate is even worse in the USA; the Huffington Post reported that 3 women are killed every day by their partners more than any other perpetrator[4].
It was reported in a statistic stated by rainn.org that in America a woman is raped every 98 seconds! And of course, this statistic is only for the reported cases. And for the suicide rate a statistic in the USA declared that there are 129 suicides per day[5]!!
And for the number of illegitimate children born out of marriage, the birth rates in most of the Western countries exceeds 40%[6]!!
Hence, how can we trust such criteria and values, when we see before our eyes its catastrophic consequences!
What would make us prefer the Western criteria and values over others, when we see intellectuals globally oppose these values, expose its falsity and warn against their consequences?!
Whoever objectively studies the Western values, it will become apparent to him how dangerous and damaging it is, not only to the future of the West but rather to the entire human race. This is a reality: The degradation of moral values inevitably leads to the decline of civilizations.
I have lived in the West for more than six years and I was a close witness of this appalling decadence of values and morals.
Apparently, the most logical and fit source of criteria in assessing good and evil, correct or incorrect, is the criteria set by the One, who encompassed this entire universe with His complete Knowledge; observes every delicate aspect of it; and fully aware of the consequences of matters. Hence, if God said: “for the male, what is equal to the share of two females” pertaining children, while keeping in mind the Islamic relation and duties between males and females, we say: O God we heard and obeyed.
Why do we say so? Because we patently realize that such ruling came from the All-Wise, Omniscient and Omnipotent Creator, the exalted.
Second Method: Detailed Explanation
After using the first method, we need to be aware of the background of this person before shifting to the second method, which requires to go in detail refuting that specific doubt.
Hence, if the opponent was an atheist or agnostic, it will be wise to focus on substantiating the proofs of God existence rather than delving into refuting the doubt in detail; unless you are confronting a mix audience.
Or if the opponent was a deist, who claims that God created the universe and has forsaken it, then you need to present to him the importance and proofs of Prophethood and why accepting God’s existence mandates admitting that God did not forsake His creation but rather sent prophets to them. Moreover, prove to him that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is a true Prophet, whom God revealed the Qur’an to, which is God’s last genuine statement to mankind. And what you have opposed is patently mentioned in this genuine Book.
Bear in mind, when confronted by this doubt, your utmost goal should not be merely responding to the doubt, but rather to deliver the true message of Islam in a concise rational benign manner; and to present the beauty and comprehensiveness of the Islamic discourse to the opposing party.
And if the opponent was a confused Muslim, tell him: what you deemed to be unfair is the apparent meaning of the statement of Allāh, the exalted, which all Muslims understood, followed and accepted since Prophet Muhammad’s ﷺ time until today.
Academically and logically, it does not make sense that the entire Muslim nation, including all scholars, jurists, linguists and the experts in this field for the past 1400 years persist practicing this rule; and then someone comes later and claims that they were all mistaken, hence they must adjust, re-interpret or negate this ruling!
Such opposition to this ruling only appeared lately by few, who do not abide by the linguistic or legitimate criteria in interpreting the text of the Qur’an or Sunnah, rather impelled by their mere desire or lured by Western values, which even lead them to tamper with the main principles of Islam.
Now, let us shift to the second method and delve into the detailed answer for this doubt.
First, we need to emphasis a fact that the Islamic discourse does not contradict common sense and pays enormous attention to the overall goodness of mankind. Hence, the Islamic injunctions are rational, fair and justifiable. So, the motive behind responding to this doubt is to establish certainty in the heart of a confused believer; clear the doubt of the skeptic; escort the seeker of truth; and to establish the argument against the onslaught of an aggressive opponent.
Let us start with this parable, which partially carries an answer to this doubt.
Assume that a father sent his son and daughter to study overseas. He gave each on of them ten thousand Dollars. He said to his son: “You have to spend from your own budget on yourself and your sister; you should cover the flight tickets, accommodation, food, clothing and school tuition of both of you; and your sister saves her money for herself and you have no right to take a dime from her unless she voluntarily gives you.”
Ask the opponent; is what the father did fair or unfair?
Precisely, this parable embodies the ruling “why a daughter is given half what a son gets in inheritance”. It demonstrates the status of women in Islam and the responsibilities placed upon the shoulders of men. Women are Islamically honored like in no other religion or legislation; they are well taken care of when they are mothers, wives, daughters and sisters. They never had to worry about providing for themselves nor their families. It is the exclusive duty of males to handle all that. Even if a woman chooses to work, she is still not obliged to spend on her family. Whatever income she makes is deemed as hers alone.
Tell me: Where in the world do women get such care and rights?
When a Western apologist criticizes the way in which the inheritance is divided in Islam, we understand from what background he is coming from. In the West, females must work like males do and both share the same duties toward the family. Hence, dividing the inheritance in an Islamic manner may sound unfair to the females of the West.
But, unlike the West, in Islam males are obliged to exclusively oversee their household including the needs of the female members of the family.
We need to deliver the whole picture to the West and to help them understand the difference between us and them in pertaining women issues and responsibilities. Then they may realize the fairness of Islam.
If you look to the “civilized” west, whom some claim is exclusively the source of noble values and the role model of equality, we still find Western women receive less salary than males do according to Forbes newspaper and other human rights web sites[7]!
So where are the Western women rights activists from such a prejudice practice?!
Islamically, a job is a job whether it was performed by a male or a female. Whoever does it must receive the fair due wage for that job.
In the West due to the proclaimed equality rights between gender, it became incumbent upon females to leave their homes and provide for their families; no distinction between their duties and their husbands toward the family. Hence, she had to compete with males in work environment; expose herself to perverts. Some look at her as a sex commodity; others exercise with her verbal or physical sexual harassment (see appalling statistic, especially after the #MeToo campaign)[8]. All this in an attempt from her to comply with the values set by the Western male dominant authority, which disclaimed its duties and placed it upon the shoulder of women.
A friend who went to school in France once told me, he saw a pregnant female standing on scaffold of a building conducting construction work. Is this the befitting place for my mother, wife, sister or daughter to be in? Imagine her working in a coal mine; hanging on a garbage truck and going door to door collecting waste; and other fields in which she was coerced to work in under the pretext of equal rights.
Surprisingly, these proclaimed equal rights are not constant; if you look to the Western sport world, whether it was football, rugby, basketball, swimming and others, you would not see this preached equality in real practice.
Why is that?
Simply, they realize that males and females are not equal. And in this specific situation equality harms the sport industry revenues and is less entertaining to the masses.
So, for God’s sake now, who is abusing the women?!
If you persist in accusing Islam, then please justify to us the following: why is it that the majority, who embrace Islam in the West are women?!
Why did she voluntarily reject the western ‘honorable’ values and prefer the Islamic ‘unfair’ values (as you claim)?!
And if you fail to justify that; then allow me to step in and say: the answer is so simple. She looked objectively into the Islamic values and simply compared it to the status of women in every faith and civilizations and concluded that Islam is the most fit and pleasing model to her.
The Independent newspaper stated: Three-quarters of Britons who become Muslims are female[9].
Because of this accumulative mistreatment and violence against women in the West, the feminist movement erupted against the lewd male chauvinist society, which commodified them merely to satisfy their lusts and desires. This proves that the poor woman of the West is perpetually in state of dispute and dissatisfaction with what the male dominant authority had imposed upon her.
Simply put, once the pure and genuine teachings of Islam is clearly presented to her, you will find her without hesitance submit to it. And she unifies herself with the hundreds of millions of satisfied Muslim females, who realize the purpose of life and strive hard to comply with the divine injunctions.
But as for the women’s inheritance in Islam, bear in mind, it has several cases and it is not always that women receive half the share of men. In fact, it is only deemed in four cases out of tens of cases. We have many cases, where a woman inherits more than the males and is given precedence over her father, grandfather, brother, cousin, nephew, or uncle; cases where she inherits, and the males don’t; or cases where she gets the equivalent share as a male. And if we ask to equalize males with females in inheritance, it would be unfair to females in many cases where they inherit more; or they inherit and the males do not.
Islam has outraced other nations and civilization in the inheritance system. Bear in mind, this system was initiated 1400 years ago, when women in other civilization were dealt with as an inherited property or do not inherit at all. Women in the West did not get to inherit until few decades back.
Yet, this Islamic inheritance system is still applicable and compatible until as of today.
Let us conclude by a testimony given by a prominent western figure, who is not a Muslim; Gustave Le Bon (d. 1931) says in his book Arab Civilization: “The principles of inheritance which have been determined in the Qur’an have a great deal of justice and fairness. The person who reads the Qur’an can perceive these concepts of justice and fairness in terms of inheritance through the verses I quoted. I should also point out the great level of efficiency in terms of general laws and rules derived from these verses. I have compared British, French and Islamic Laws of inheritance and found that Islam grants the wives the right of inheritance, which our laws are lacking while Westerners consider them to be ill-treated by the Muslim men.”
Islam presents a remarkably peculiar, practical and integrated model, which serve mankind’s general interest; it does not flatter a group or an individual over another. This model is an honor to every Muslim, who affiliates to it. It should make him a proud and fervent advocate to its values before every nation and in every congregation.
It does not befit a Muslim, who affiliates to this great religion and knows his Lord very well, to lower his head in shame, turn pale or stutter, whenever he is confronted by the slightest doubt; or stands ashamed and weak in struggling to defend his faith. What kind of faith is this, shaken by the slightest breeze?!
All praises are due to Allāh, our faith is founded on stringent and strong proofs and arguments, and this should make us stand confidently firm in disproving every proclaimed doubt. In fact, we should be carrying the onslaught against the opponent’s shameful values. And we should be smart enough to easily turn the table against the opponent and expose the incoherency and incompatibility of his values.
Finally, be aware that there is not a doubt against Islam, which was left unanswered by the scholars. Thus, if you fail to answer a specific doubt, you should not question your faith’s credibility, rather be proud and frank and say: I will ask those who have knowledge and get back to you.
May Allāh guide and safeguard us all.
References:
[1] https://www.government.nl/topics/drugs/toleration-policy-regarding-soft-drugs-and-coffee-shops
https://www.businessinsider.com/where-can-you-can-legally-smoke-weed-2018-1
[2] http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-42121407
[3] See infidelity rates in the USA and top 10 countries (9 of them are European):
http://www.divorcestatistics.info/latest-infidelity-statistics-of-usa.html,
[5] https://afsp.org/about-suicide/suicide-statistics/
[6] https://www.statista.com/statistics/276802/births-out-of-wedlock-in-the-eu/
https://www.aauw.org/research/the-simple-truth-about-the-gender-pay-gap/
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