Islam and Modern Western Civilization "Reflections on the Struggle of the Prophet Muhammad SAW"

It can be seen that the development of modern world civilization is currently dominated by a western mindset, in which both the economic, social and cultural systems have all developed in the name of the west, so that the discourse brought by the west is to deny the role of religion in general and Islam itself in particular. , as if the role of Islam in this modern development is irrelevant.

For most Muslims, the development of modern civilization today is inseparable from the role of religious values ​​initiated and integrated with the times, but for western thinkers, no matter how good their religious values ​​are, they think that this will hamper the pace of the development of modern civilization. it is considered that it does not match the current pace of civilization.

As the current era awakens, it can be seen that it is very modern, be it in the fields of technology, communication, industry, and so on. The West claims that these are all the results of their creation, with the initial idea they created, namely the separation between the concept of religion and state development, where when religion participates in development, it is considered to be an obstacle to the pace of civilization development, on the grounds: politics, economics and civilization.

And if religion enters this realm, religion will be irrelevant in facing this already complex era development. SECULARISM is an important discourse brought by the west in medieval times when the confines of the church dominated from various lines of life then created an idea of ​​separating religion from the value of rationality that led to the development of civilization, so as to create modernization and become a fundamental criterion for development.

If the western paradigm considers that with the separation between religion and state, modernity is a necessary thing according to him, but here we will find a lot of confusion, and what kind of perspective should be done.

Islam itself firmly rejects if the universal values ​​it contains are considered inconsistent with the progress of the times today. Islamic values ​​are actually not in conflict with the progress of the times like what western thinkers think. Islamic teachings are held by Muslims, where Islamic values ​​will manifest into faith, and that faith will manifest into a social responsibility guided by God's provisions.

God is the final and absolute truth, so that there is no other and relative truth that believers can hold on to. So that responsibility will be attached to man throughout the history of his life, God's own provisions were given to Muslims to become a guide for their life, that provision is: Al-Qur'an.

Here the role of the Al-Qur'an is in accordance with Islamic teachings, which is applicable at all times and ages, so it is impossible for Islamic values ​​to be eroded by the development of modern times.

So the role of Muslims in the Koran itself is the alignment between worldly life and ukhrawi, where when this harmony is achieved, justice, prosperity, and civilization peace will be realized. Here the role of the Islamic world is clearly visible when it is collided with the development of modern times today, so the problem is not about: "Are religious values ​​in accordance with the times ???" But more than that, "To what extent has the role of religion, especially Islam played a role in the development of this modern civilization ???"

The discourse above will lead us to a reflection on the meaning of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad and the struggles he did in preaching and the truce that was so violent that it revealed the deepest meaning and could be contextualized today.

This is what we will absorb how the values ​​of religiosity are attached to individuals so that they can become a reference for life in a better direction, such as the peak of the glory made by the Prophet Muhammad when he succeeded in triggering the Medina charter and erupting into a civilized society that was initiated by him in Yastrib. before changing its name to Medina.

The Prophet's struggle was so difficult, starting from the ridicule of the quraish disbelievers, the physical contact the Prophet received, as well as the accusation of "being crazy" against the Prophet when he was spreading da'wah, but behind that the basis of his faith became an extraordinary force that could create social change towards civilized society.

This is the meaning that we have to contemplate, this is the struggle that we must create in our times when it is collided with technological developments, cruel capitalism where humans are hegemonized by the capitalist system itself, so that the peak of it all creates social inequality. This is the basis for the ideas of Islamic reformers such as: Ali Shariati, Hassan Hanafi, Muhamad Iqbal, Muhammad Abduh, Fazlur Rahman, Nurcholis Madjid and so on, in which religious values ​​can be taken as reflected in the life of the prophet Muhammad and his struggles. .

There are several things that need to be considered in facing the times that hegemony contemporary humans. First, the values ​​of faith brought by the Prophet in the struggle that he carried out should be a reflection of the present era, so that in the future it will raise awareness that humans live their lives not always in a comfortable condition, even complacent by the current situation, causing zumudan (stagnation). thinking for future life processes. So the first thing is "awareness" which must be raised in the individual.

Then furthermore, behind the awareness there must also arise a struggle to defend the weak, poverty, inappropriate rule of law, oppression, etc., so that from the point of awareness that has been embedded through the reflection of the Prophet's struggle, it will manifest into a spirit of awakening coupled with the values the value of the Koran or the Prophet's Sunnah.

The last one is creativity, where this is the starting point for the success of achieving a just and prosperous society, so that it can reduce the development of modern times towards even better things accompanied by moral values ​​that are contained between fellow human beings. This is what is called the rationalization of Islamic teachings where the values ​​of religiosity in Islam include all the norms of life, and this is not the time for religion in contemporary times to become the opium of society, when an individual experiences difficulties, disasters, or negative things in life, they run. to religion, so that religion is only used as an escape, not as a weapon.

We must be able to see that it is with faith that a spirit of struggle will emerge in life, where when religious values ​​have been mastered, it is important to explore modern science to be integrated so that it becomes a new paradigm in creating a civilization that is more moral and focuses on justice and prosperity. This is what is meant by religious rationalization. ***

Arviansyah

The author is a third semester student majoring in Al-Quran and Tafsir Science at IAIN Syekhnurjati Cirebon, the author is one of the activists of the Wednesday Night Action with Books (two hours without gadgets) @mrbb_cirebon, the author is also part of the Kuningan Student Association in the Cirebon area which is in managing the Interests and Talent Scientific Development division.

Source: https://kuninganmass.com/anything/netizen-mass/islam-dan-performasi-modern-barat-refleksi-perjuangan-nabi-muhammad-saw/

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