Islam As It Is
Islamic Society
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that of relative, neighbour, friend, vendor,
customer, businessman, client, landlord or tenant—
to state the position very broadly. But, all too often,
bonds once formed in love and friendship’ are
marred, or even broken, by hate, callousness,
hostility, indifference, cunning, greed, envy, if not
downright criminality. In living side by side with
one another, and in serving each others needs,
society’s members are constantly obliged to have
dealings with one another, and it is in the matter of
these everyday transactions that all kinds of issues
arise which can call forth a negative human
reaction. But this is only in the nature of things, for
unlike stones, lying unmoved and unmoving, all
together in a heap, human beings rub shoulders
with each other, and that is when the sparks fly!
That is when a streak comes to the surface which
pushes
them
further
and
further
into
contentiousness, whereas what is needed is self-
restraint and refusal to enter into conflict. Greed,
opportunism and the desire to dominate are to
blame for much of the friction in society, while on
the other side of the coin, there is over-sensitivity,
inertia and ignorance. In the face of such human
frailty, how can social relationships be expected to
