Topics/Social Issues

Social Issues

9 items across 3 content types

Questions (3)

intermediate
Jihad & Terrorism

Why are most of the Muslims terrorists?

The premise of the question is false. The word 'terrorist' means someone who causes terror. A policeman is a terrorist for a criminal. Labels depend on perspective — the British called George Washington 'Terrorist No. 1,' and Nelson Mandela was labeled a terrorist before winning the Nobel Peace Prize. The Qur'an commands Muslims to verify information before acting on it.

beginner
Jihad & Terrorism

Why does the media portray Islam negatively?

Between 1800 and 1950 alone, over 60,000 books were written against Islam — more than one per day. The media applies double standards: a Muslim woman in hijab is 'oppressed' while a Christian nun in similar dress is 'pious'; a Sikh in a turban is 'proud of his identity' while a Muslim with a beard and cap is labeled a 'fanatic.' For the media, turning black into white, or a hero into a villain, requires nothing more than framing.

beginner
Dietary Laws

Why is the consumption of alcohol prohibited in Islam?

The Qur'an calls intoxicants 'Satan's handiwork' and commands Muslims to avoid them. Alcohol inhibits the brain's inhibitory center, leading to loss of self-control. It is directly linked to crimes including domestic violence, sexual assault, and traffic fatalities. The prohibition also exists in the Bible (Proverbs 20:1, Ephesians 5:18). Islam takes a preventive approach: rather than treating the symptoms of alcohol abuse, it eliminates the root cause.

Qur'an Verses (2)

Qur'an
Surah An-Nahl (16:90)

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِٱلْعَدْلِ وَٱلْإِحْسَـٰنِ وَإِيتَآئِ ذِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ ٱلْفَحْشَآءِ وَٱلْمُنكَرِ وَٱلْبَغْىِ ۚ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ

Innallaha ya'muru bil-'adli wal-ihsani wa ita'i dhil-qurba wa yanha 'anil-fahsha'i wal-munkari wal-baghyi. Ya'izukum la'allakum tadhakkarun

Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.

Ibn Mas'ud called this 'the most comprehensive verse in the Qur'an for good and evil.' In a single sentence, it establishes three divine commands — justice (adl), excellence (ihsan), and generosity to kin — and three prohibitions — immorality (fahsha), wrongdoing (munkar), and oppression (baghy). The Umayyad Caliph Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz ordered this verse to be recited at the end of every Friday sermon, a practice that continues across much of the Muslim world to this day.
Qur'an
Surah Al-Hujurat (49:13)

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَـٰكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍ وَأُنثَىٰ وَجَعَلْنَـٰكُمْ شُعُوبًا وَقَبَآئِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ أَتْقَىٰكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ

Ya ayyuhan-nasu inna khalaqnakum min dhakarin wa untha wa ja'alnakum shu'uban wa qaba'ila lita'arafu. Inna akramakum 'indallahi atqakum. Innallaha 'Alimun Khabir

O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Aware.

This verse is the Qur'an's most direct statement on human equality. It addresses all of humanity ('ya ayyuha al-nas'), not just Muslims, and demolishes racial, tribal, and ethnic hierarchies by establishing that the only criterion of superiority before God is taqwa (God-consciousness/righteousness) — an internal quality invisible to others. The Prophet Muhammad reinforced this in his Farewell Sermon: 'No Arab has any superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab... except by taqwa.'

Hadith (4)

Hadith
Sahih Muslim 2564
Sahih

لاَ تَحَاسَدُوا وَلاَ تَنَاجَشُوا وَلاَ تَبَاغَضُوا وَلاَ تَدَابَرُوا وَلاَ يَبِعْ بَعْضُكُمْ عَلَى بَيْعِ بَعْضٍ وَكُونُوا عِبَادَ اللَّهِ إِخْوَانًا

La tahasadu wa la tanajashu wa la tabaghadhu wa la tadabaru wa la yabi' ba'dukum 'ala bay'i ba'd, wa kunu 'ibadallahi ikhwanan

The Prophet said: 'Do not envy one another, do not artificially inflate prices against one another, do not hate one another, do not turn away from one another, and do not undercut one another in trade. Be, O servants of Allah, brothers.'

Narrated by Abu Hurairah

This hadith lays out the ethical foundations of social interaction in Islam. It prohibits envy, market manipulation, hatred, social exclusion, and unfair competition — replacing them with a vision of brotherhood and mutual respect. It demonstrates that Islamic ethics extend deeply into economic and social life.
Hadith
Sahih al-Bukhari 2587
Sahih

مَثَلُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي تَوَادِّهِمْ وَتَرَاحُمِهِمْ وَتَعَاطُفِهِمْ مَثَلُ الْجَسَدِ إِذَا اشْتَكَى مِنْهُ عُضْوٌ تَدَاعَى لَهُ سَائِرُ الْجَسَدِ بِالسَّهَرِ وَالْحُمَّى

Mathal al-mu'minina fi tawaddihim wa tarahumihim wa ta'atufihim mathal al-jasad, idha ishtaka minhu 'udwun tada'a lahu sa'ir al-jasadi bis-sahari wal-humma

The Prophet said: 'The believers in their mutual kindness, compassion, and sympathy are like one body. When one limb suffers, the whole body responds to it with wakefulness and fever.'

Narrated by An-Nu'man ibn Bashir

This hadith uses a powerful biological metaphor to describe the ideal Muslim community: an interconnected organism where the suffering of any part triggers a collective response. It establishes communal solidarity and empathy not as optional virtues but as natural expressions of genuine faith.
Hadith
Sahih Muslim 2699
Sahih

مَنْ نَفَّسَ عَنْ مُؤْمِنٍ كُرْبَةً مِنْ كُرَبِ الدُّنْيَا نَفَّسَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ كُرْبَةً مِنْ كُرَبِ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ وَمَنْ يَسَّرَ عَلَى مُعْسِرٍ يَسَّرَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالآخِرَةِ

Man naffasa 'an mu'minin kurbatan min kurab id-dunya naffasa Allahu 'anhu kurbatan min kurab yawm il-qiyamah, wa man yassara 'ala mu'sirin yassara Allahu 'alayhi fid-dunya wal-akhirah

The Prophet said: 'Whoever relieves a believer of a hardship of this world, Allah will relieve him of a hardship on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever makes things easy for one in difficulty, Allah will make things easy for him in this world and the Hereafter.'

Narrated by Abu Hurairah

This hadith establishes a divine reciprocity: acts of compassion in this world are met with divine compassion in the next. It motivates social responsibility by connecting worldly kindness directly to eschatological reward, making charity and aid not just ethical duties but spiritually transformative acts.
Hadith
Sahih Muslim 49
Sahih

مَنْ رَأَى مِنْكُمْ مُنْكَرًا فَلْيُغَيِّرْهُ بِيَدِهِ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِلِسَانِهِ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِقَلْبِهِ وَذَلِكَ أَضْعَفُ الإِيمَانِ

Man ra'a minkum munkaran falyughayyirhu biyadihi, fa in lam yastati' fa bilisanihi, fa in lam yastati' fa biqalbihi, wa dhalika ad'af al-iman

The Prophet said: 'Whoever among you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand; if he cannot, then with his tongue; if he cannot, then with his heart — and that is the weakest of faith.'

Narrated by Abu Sa'id al-Khudri

This hadith establishes a three-tiered framework for social responsibility in Islam. The highest level is direct action (changing evil by hand — through authority or physical intervention), followed by verbal opposition (speaking against it), and finally internal rejection (condemning it in one's heart). The descending order reflects both capability and circumstance. Critically, even passive internal disapproval is presented as a minimum requirement of faith — no believer may be indifferent to injustice. Imam al-Nawawi included this as Hadith 34 in his famous 'Forty Hadith' collection, calling it 'a great foundation of Islam.' This hadith is one of the most frequently cited narrations in discussions of civic responsibility, social justice, and the obligation to speak truth to power.