Positioning the Specialists towards Empowering the Ummah

The Ummah’s current state, which is identified by majority as lack of iman is reflected in their spiritual, intellectual, and moral strengths. The role of the specialists and that they be positioned at the right place is crucial in this matter. Oftentimes we fall back to merely finding solutions to the spiritual and moral problems by neglecting the foundation of the two that is the intellectual. The contemporary effort of those hostile to Islam is to undermine this foundation. Their in depth and specialized studies of our Din and counter arguments will have the upper hand with respect to creating doubts in our iman and Din. Therefore, is it a sufficient role for our scholars of

i) al-Qur’an to just teaching qiraat, tajwid, and taranum at the expense of meaningful engagement with it and the sciences of al-Qur'an?

ii) al-Hadith to just engage in reading and lecturing at the expense of sciences of al-Hadith?

iii) Fiqh to just exhort the followers to be immaculate in fiqh al-ibadah and fiqh al-muamalah at the expense of fiqh al-mu’asirah as the post modernism worldviews are engulfing our very fundamental belief.

iv) Sirah to just imbue the followers with the emotional attachment to the Prophet SAW, his family and Sahabah RA at the expense of not knowing how the Islamic concepts and principles are to be translated into practice in changing time and circumstances?

On the other hand, the specialists in other fields specifically the scientists and technologists must come forward to lend their expertise in critical and vital position. In empowering the Ummah,

i) the media and ICT are thought to be the most powerful tools in molding and shaping their thoughts and actions

ii) the natural scientists are yet to explore the limitless signs and knowledge of Our Creator

iii) the technologists are to develop an alternative technology within the philosophical and intellectual framework of Islamic Civilization as borrowed or transfer technology will only make the Ummah becoming more dependent besides it has cultural and environmental consequences

iv) the scientists and technologists as proposed by one Muslim thinker, are to

a) look for policies in science and technology that will bring Muslim countries
together and demonstrate the benefit of cooperation and a unified approach,

b) increase scientific and technological cooperation between Muslim states to a
level where pooling of resources become a natural process ,

c) look for the role that science and technology can perform in the creation of
a global Ummah state.

The historians, the social scientists, geographers, mathematicians, medical practitioners, geologists, anthropologists et cetera each has their assigned role and position in empowering the Ummah. Let there be serious, engaging, and profound discourses on Din al-Islam and empowering the Ummah conducted by the experts in their respective fields. Engaging in disputes concerning matters of Din will have its consequences in the next generation for they will be left in doubt as to what is the truth. Our concern should be in building a community, an ummah not a cult. Equipping the Ummah with solid philosophical and intellectual framework based on sound knowledge is vital to safeguard their iman. Knowledge is powerful and has the power to change the Ummah. Wallahu’alam.