AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The “Islamic Modern Civilization” conference was held on Saturday, January 4, 2025, at the Fars Hotel in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, in the presence of Ayatollah Reza Ramazani, Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.
Ayatollah Reza Ramazani, who attended the conference as a special guest, referred to the dimensions of Islamic civilization and stated, “Islamic civilization is a social concept resulting from a type of thought and ideology. There are ten civilizations in today’s world, including Western and American civilizations. We believe Islam possesses civilization, and we have the most beautiful and complete ideology and ethics in Islam. We believe Islam has Fiqh al-Ijtima (comprehensive jurisprudence) for lifestyle in various individual, social, cultural, political, and economic spheres. Building civilization in any country reflects its progress and system.”
“One of the features of Islamic civilization is its systematic nature in material and spiritual fields. Such a civilization is lawful, disciplined, and governed by regulations. Elements that form civilization include valuing knowledge, promoting education, wealth, and capital creation, under the aegis of political power and public security,” he continued.
The Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly added, “Muslims should not allow themselves to fall victim to the enemy’s plots. Why must casualties always be from Muslims? We must adopt strategies and paths to ensure there are no casualties among Muslims, and they are not victimized.”
Ayatollah Ramazani, referring to the characteristics of a civilized society, stated, “The first characteristic of such a society is centering around dignity. All human beings, whether men, women, children, or youth, must enjoy human dignity and greatness. When God wants to teach His Prophet (p.b.u.h), He introduces Himself as the Most Generous: “اقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ الْأَكْرَمُ* الَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلَمِ” (“Read, and your Lord is the most generous, who taught by the pen”) (Holy Quran, 96: 3 and 4); and God’s angels, who are intermediaries of grace, are introduced as noble; the Prophet (p.b.u.h) who was sent to guide humanity is noble; and the Quran, introduced as the Holy Book, is the noble Quran. Humans possess intrinsic dignity, and with effort, they can achieve acquired dignity: “إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ” (Indeed the noblest of you in the sight of Allah is the most Godwary among you) (Holy Quran: 49: 13).”
“The second feature of an Islamic civilized society is awareness and insight. Ignorance is the cause of a society’s regression, and awareness is its progress factor. Imam Ali (a.s.) in Nahj al-Balagha said: “إِلَى اللَّهِ أَشْكُو مِنْ مَعْشَرٍ يَعِيشُونَ جُهَلَاءَ وَيَمُوتُونَ ضُلَلَاءَ لَيْسَ فِيهِمْ سِلْعَةٌ أَبْوَرُ مِنْ الْكِتَابِ إِذَا تُلِيَ حَقَّ تِلَاوَتِهِ” (“To Allah, I complain of a people who live ignorantly and die misguided; among them, nothing is more abandoned than the Book when it is recited as it should be”). An informed Muslim society is one that places values in their proper position, and members of such a society must be aware of the condition of Muslims worldwide,” he continued.
The Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly added, “The third characteristic of a civilized society is being science-oriented, as knowledge brings power. Iran’s scientific ranking over the past 46 years has risen from 57th to 16th place, and in some fields of science, it ranks 10th, and in others, 5th. Therefore, all Muslim countries must establish scientific bases to achieve scientific authority because science advances a country in terms of civilization. The fourth feature of a civilized society is being faithful and believing in Occultation and the monotheistic system. Science is not opposed to monotheism but brings people closer to God. Scientists hold such beliefs, as exemplified by Jean Guitton, who wrote a book titled ‘God and Science.’ Thus, the Islamic modern civilization must strengthen its beliefs in the unseen and God.”
Ayatollah Ramazani described a civilized Islamic society as a justice-seeking and justice-oriented society and asserted, “All prophets came to establish justice: “لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ وَأَنْزَلْنَا مَعَهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْمِيزَانَ لِيَقُومَ النَّاسُ بِالْقِسْطِ” (“Certainly We sent Our apostles with manifest proofs, and We sent down with them the Book and the Balance”) (Holy Quran, 57: 25). Justice is not an imposed matter; humanity naturally seeks justice. Islam aims to create true justice in human society so that everyone benefits from it. Today, unfortunately, these terms are abused; with the slogan and claim of justice, oppression is carried out, while justice is absent. Therefore, justice must be realized across all of humanity.”
“The sixth feature of a civilized society is rationality, meaning a society that reasons. We believe Islam is a rational religion and all Islamic propositions are supported by reason. Various Islamic denominations have a serious regard for rationality, and there are about 300 verses in the Quran concerning reflection, reasoning, and contemplation. Another characteristic of a civilized society is enjoying comprehensive peace and security, rather than calling for tension and violence. Islam is by no means a religion of violence. Violence is attributed to Islam by enemies. Islam is a religion of mercy, tolerance, and rationality, and it never has been and never will be a religion of violence,” he continued.
The Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly added, “In a civilized society, everyone must enjoy security, while in Western civilization, security is only for a specific group. In Gaza, where innocent children and women are killed, there is never any mention of peace and security; rather, the aim is to turn a city into the world’s largest prison. Gaza is an international prison and humanitarian aid cannot be sent there from any direction.”
Ayatollah Ramazani, referring to the place of spirituality in an Islamic civilized society, stated, “The eighth feature of such a society is attention to meaning-orientation and spirituality. An Islamic civilized society pays attention to spirituality, the inner self of humans, their inner merits, and their connection to the unseen. We should not view humans merely materially because the essence of humanity is meaning-orientation and a move towards spirituality: “يَا أَيُّهَا الْإِنْسَانُ إِنَّكَ كَادِحٌ إِلَى رَبِّكَ كَدْحًا فَمُلَاقِيهِ” (“O man! You are laboring toward your Lord laboriously, and you will encounter Him.”) (Holy Quran, 84: 6). In a civilized society, if a person seeks peace, he must be meaning-oriented and spiritual. Of course, true meaning-orientation is meant, not fake or fabricated spirituality.”
“Today, in the West, they are seeking fake spirituality, and there are four thousand spiritualities there; spiritualities separate from God. Spirituality without God does not bring peace to humans; of course, it becomes evident that there is an original version of spirituality that is being imitated. Spirituality exists, but they do not want humanity to turn to religious spirituality headed by God. We conclude that a civilized society must move towards spirituality. The ninth feature of a civilized society is responsibility, which naturally follows from the previous feature. In the world, spiritualities are promoted that evade and avoid responsibility, isolating humans in a corner. But the spirituality emphasized in Islam assigns responsibilities to humans in various fields, and this is an important feature of an Islamic civilized society,” he continued.
The Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly added, “The tenth feature of an Islamic modern civilized society is fighting and avoiding corruption. In an Islamic civilized society, corruption does not exist, and no one is allowed to pursue financial, moral, ideological, or intellectual corruption. Instead, Islamic society stands against all these forms of corruption and resists them. There are two proscribing principles in Islam: we should not oppress, and we should not submit to oppression. These two are completely absent in Islam. The eleventh feature of an Islamic civilized society is its moderation, free from excess and deficiency: “وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا” (“Thus, have We made of you an Ummat justly balanced, that ye might be witnesses over the nations, and the Messenger a witness over yourselves”) (Holy Quran, 2: 143). A society affected by excess and deficiency never grows. The twelfth feature of a civilized society is centering around morality, which is why God praises the Prophet (p.b.u.h) for his morals.”
Ayatollah Ramazani, referring to the view of the Hereafter in a civilized Islamic society, stated, “The thirteenth characteristic of such a society is Hereafter orientation and striving to build the Hereafter. While Western societies focus solely on worldly affairs, Islamic societies aim to develop both this world and the Hereafter. The fourteenth characteristic of a civilized Islamic society is duty-centeredness, rooted in the belief in obligations and prohibitions. All Islamic denominations acknowledge obligations (wajibat), prohibitions (muharramat), recommendations (mustahabbat), and disapprovals (makruhat). Whatever is obligatory aligns with interest, and whatever is prohibited is harmful, all of which are established based on wisdom.”
“The fifteenth characteristic of a civilized Islamic society is the belief in the just distribution of wealth. Today, 10% of the world’s wealth is allocated to 90% of the population, while 90% of the wealth is held by 10% of the population. This is sheer injustice and inequality. Currently, one billion children and adolescents worldwide suffer from malnutrition, and unfortunately, Western civilization has created the foundation for such global injustice,” he continued.
“The final characteristic of a civilized Islamic society is that it is based on spreading God’s mercy to all of humanity: “وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ” (And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds) (Holy Quran, 21: 107). The Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) was sent for all of humanity to spread mercy across the entire world. The Prophet (p.b.u.h) himself stated that he was sent to disseminate mercy. Mercy is never compatible with violence, and there is no relationship between violence and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h). It is the enemies’ plot to attribute violence to Islam, the Prophet (p.b.u.h), or the Muslims’ holy book, whereas the Prophet’s (p.b.u.h) leadership was based on mercy,” he added.
At the end of his speech, the Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly concluded, “After some Muslims treated the Prophet (p.b.u.h) unfairly, the following verses were revealed: “فَبِمَا رَحْمَةٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ لِنْتَ لَهُمْ وَلَوْ كُنْتَ فَظًّا غَلِيظَ الْقَلْبِ لَانْفَضُّوا مِنْ حَوْلِكَ فَاعْفُ عَنْهُمْ وَاسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ وَشَاوِرْهُمْ فِي الْأَمْرِ فَإِذَا عَزَمْتَ فَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ” (It is by Allah’s mercy that you are gentle to them; had you been harsh and hardhearted, they would have surely scattered from around you. So excuse them and plead for forgiveness for them, and consult them in the affairs, and once you are resolved, put your trust in Allah. Indeed Allah loves those who trust in Him) (Holy Quran, 3: 159). In these verses, God reminds the Prophet (p.b.u.h) to deal kindly with the Muslims, forgive them, and seek forgiveness on their behalf. Additionally, He advises the Prophet (p.b.u.h) to consult with Muslims in significant matters and, once a decision is made to place trust in God.”
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