Developments in Islamic thought

1. ‘The role of women in early Islam supports the Qur’anic view that men and women are spiritually equal.’ Discuss.

In the Qur’anic view, the Muslim states consider both men and women as spiritually equal and they expect to fulfil the same duties in the society and the duties of worship. The position of the women in the society is progressive at a rapid rate and it is improving in Muhammad’s time, where all the women are respected and responsible with the same tasks as men in the society (Syahnan, Mahyuddin and Mukhsin, 2017). Muhammad was known for having consulted women and there is equal value and respect for all the women in the society and it has been explored that, women are also responsible to spread Islam significantly and their contribution was good (Ismail, 2018). For example, the prophet’s wife Khadijah was instrumental in supporting him at the start of his prophet hood and there is equal contribution of both men and women in the family to make it successful and improve the standard of living (Syed and Ali, 2019). According to Islam, men and women were created from equal soul and it is important to provide equal supports to both men and women so that they can fulfil their responsibility and contribute in the duties of worship (Ismail, 2018). Muhammad’s wife Hafsa was essential in the protection of the Qur’anic revelations and this shows that Muhammad has the trust on his wife for maintaining Qur’anic revelations and it leads to equality in the society for both men and women (Syed and Ali, 2019).

The women also prayed with men in mosques which refer that there is spiritual equality among the men and women in the society (Syahnan, Mahyuddin and Mukhsin, 2017). As per the Qur’anic view, the women are respected and valued as Muhammad tries to listen the perspective of the women and understand their opinion which leads to equality in the society (Ismail, 2018). It was primarily Muhammad’s wives who had the most prominent roles in early Islamic society; however, none of the caliphs were women, who led the Muslim community after the death of Muhammad (Syahnan, Mahyuddin and Mukhsin, 2017). Hence, it is difficult to state that there is spiritual equality between men and women in the Muslim society. Here, the role of the women depends on the varying interpretation which raises a question of supporting spiritual equality in the society. There is necessary women empowerment in the Muslim society as well as the women also represent the Muslim states and politics (Syed and Ali, 2019). This further develops the fact that there is spiritual equality between men and women as per the Qur’anic view, where the women are treated equally as men and they have respect and freedom to choose the activities for better contribution to the worship (Syahnan, Mahyuddin and Mukhsin, 2017). The notion of equality has not been reflected in many of the laws in Muslim based institutions and societies, even after the Qur’anic view that men and women are spiritually equal.

2. Assess the importance of mission (da’wa) for Muslims living in Europe.

In the Islamic theology, the purpose of da‘wa is to invite the people, including Muslims and non-Muslims, in order to understand the worship of God as expressed in the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the prophet Muhammad and to inform them about Muhammad (Fuad, 2020). Muhammad starts spreading the message of the Qur'an to mankind in order to invite more people in Muslim by improving their understanding about God. The methods of da‘wah is with regard to Muhammad mild nature in preaching Islam where it is important to manage the people gently and deal with them politely (Brandenburg, 2020). The intertwining between da‘wa and politics further spread the message related to worship. Speaking in common language as well as doing da‘wa in right location are also beneficial to ensure the missions of da‘wa in the European countries (Fuad, 2020).

There are more than 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide with about 44 million of those, living in the Europe (Brandenburg, 2020). In the UK, there is increasing numbers of Muslim and the mission of da‘wa is to spread the information about the culture and share the Muslim view with others for inviting people leading to better understanding and improve the feature and faith on Muslim society from the time of Muhammad and it is further effective to spread across the European countries. In 21st century Europe mission may take the form of interfaith dialogue or participate in similar initiatives (Chaplin, 2018). However, for example, 9/11 and other terrorist attack worsen the situation leading to a rise in Islam phobia in some European countries and this makes it difficult for the Muslims to integrate cross the western countries (Brandenburg, 2020). The Muslims mainly focus on communicating with the local people or inviting them and in this regard by talking to non-Muslims about Islam may dispel misconception about the religion and reduce the issue of Islam phobia. Hence, the mission of da‘wa is to invite the people and convert them to Islam.

If the Muslim communities across the European countries are increasing at a rapid rate, it is necessary to have greater numbers of Mosques, halal food centres and Islamic banks in order to manage the people in Muslim community. This makes it easier for the Muslims to live in accordance with all the faculties and Islam even in the non-Muslim countries. This is the major way to increase the numbers of people converting to Islam by inviting them through da‘wa (Chaplin, 2018). Some people focus on integrating with the non-Muslims through da‘wa and it provides a scope to the Muslims to stay easily even in the non-Islamic countries. Muslims should be trying to live according to God’s will, which requires personal jihad (greater jihad) (Brandenburg, 2020). The Qur’an states that, there should be no such compulsion in Religion, leading to the fact that if someone wants to learn more about Islam, it is their personal choice (Chaplin, 2018). In the recent era of globalisation and digitalisation, there is huge technological advancement, where the people can access internet for searching and understanding the messages related to Islam and Muslim community, hence, the mission of da‘wa become less important as the past years (Fuad, 2020).

4. ‘Isa (Jesus) is of little importance to Muslims today.’ Discuss.

In Islam, Isa or Jesus is the penultimate of prophet and messenger of God and the Messiah, who was sent to guide the children of Israel with a new revelation as the Christian New testament the Quran describes Jesus as the Messiah, born of a virgin, accompanied by disciples, rejected by Jewish establishment, performing miracle and being raised to heaven (Ghafur, Prasojo and bin Haji Masri, 2019). The significance of Jesus in Islam is such as son of Mary, Spirit of God and the Word of God. The Muslims believe that, Jesus did not die but he was sent to heaven by God and as per the Islamic tradition, he will return to gather all the true and right Muslims. Sura 19 is about Isa or Jesus and his mother Mary or Maryam (Solomon, 2020). Sura explains that May was virgin and Jesus was conceived by performing miracle and was crucified. He was just a human being, sent up to Heaven. Abraham (Ibrahim), Moses (Musa) and Jesus (Isa) are also key prophets of the Abrahamic faiths and as messengers of God. Muhammad is the only prophet mentioned in the shahadah and as per the views, he has the relevance for the Muslims today and the message for Jesus or Isa was distorted so utilising him as a source of moral guidance to lead the Muslims towards truth and right things in accordance with God's will (Shumack, 2020). Jesus chooses to live by not marrying or having children and it is contrary to the Muslims, who are encouraged to live with the means that the perception of Jesus is of little practical and further misleading the Muslims today (Ghafur, Prasojo and bin Haji Masri, 2019). As the Qur’an is the words of God, he is a hugely important person within Islam and there is importance of Isa for the Muslims today. May Muslims out there believe that Isa has significant role in today’s morale and judgements which help the Muslims to choose their lives (Ghafur, Prasojo and bin Haji Masri, 2019). However, in the recent era, there is little significant of Isa in practice as it misleads the Muslims. There are many prophets and according to the situation, the Muslims are trying to choose different prophets including Isa.

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Reference list

Brandenburg, U., 2020. Imagining an Islamic Japan: pan-Asianism’s encounter with Muslim mission. In Japan Forum (Vol. 32, No. 2, pp. 161-184). Routledge.

Chaplin, C., 2018. Salafi activism and the promotion of a modern muslim identity: Evolving mediums of da’wa amongst Yogyakartan university students. South East Asia Research, 26(1), pp.3-20.

Fuad, A.F.N., 2020. Da’wa and politics: lived experiences of the female Islamists in Indonesia. Contemporary Islam, 14(1), pp.19-47.

Ghafur, W.A., Prasojo, Z.H. and bin Haji Masri, M.S., 2019. THE QUR’ANIC JESUS: Isa al-Masih in the Qur’an. Epistemé: Jurnal Pengembangan Ilmu Keislaman, 14(2), pp.349-373.

Ismail, N.S., 2018. Gender equality principle in the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination againt women (CEDAW): a critical analysis from the Quranic perspective (Master's thesis, Kuala Lumpur: Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia, 2018).

Shumack, R., 2020. Jesus Through Muslim Eyes. London: SPCK.

Solomon, R.M., 2020. Following Jesus in a Fallen World. London: Armour Publishing Pte Ltd.

Syahnan, M., Mahyuddin, M. and Mukhsin, A., 2017. Reconsidering gender roles in modern Islam: A comparison of the images of muslim women found in the works of Sayyid Qutb and ‘ ’ishah ‘Abd Rahmân. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention, 6(10).

Syed, J. and Ali, F., 2019. Theorizing equal opportunity in Muslim majority countries. Gender, Work & Organization, 26(11), pp.1621-1639.