As a matter of fact, man stands in need of religion for guidance and inspiration. No matter how many powerful faculties he may have, he is still deficient and dependent simply because man’s physical power is still inferior to that of most other creatures and his mental power is also still imperfect. Man is not the most ever able-bodied creature, nor is his knowledge thorough or all-embracing. He has a weak structure when compared to other fellow creatures. His mentality is not more than a virtual memory which only stores such information which is entered into it, whether or not it is accurate. Thus, the human intellect only relies on experiences and situations to which man is exposed. Hence, man’s knowledge is nothing but his life experience, with all of its pros and cons.
Therefore, man can depend on neither his physique nor his reason; both are imperfect. Only aware of things that directly come into contact with his mental faculties in the absence of an ideological filter to let in only what is really right, by right of nature, man always seeks for guidance from presumable sources of guidance. Though every community of human beings adopts a different source of guidance, all of them believe that a supernatural power underlies their respective sources of guidance but in different forms. Man admits that he is imperfect so he tries to perfect himself by seeking refuge in a perfect being.
Although the name and identity may differ, such a source of guidance is essentially nothing but Allah as Muslims call Him, God as Christians and Jews call Him or whatever other communities may call Him. It is the Lord in Whom all humanity unquestionably believe, but He have His divine identity varied according to the various human beliefs and cultures.
While every community claim that they adore the true god and follow the right religion, the truth can be sought judging by the religious practice and the way of life inspired by each individual faith.
One of the effective determinants of the judgment that a certain religion is true or false is the way it regulates the relationship between the strong and the weak. This will demonstrate how fair and just a religion may be. Once fairness and justice are proven, a religion is then to be declared true as the Lord must be fair and, in turn, the religion through which He wants us to worship Him must be remarkable for fairness and justice. The Lord can not be unfair or unjust for there is no good reason for siding with one servant against another though they are supposed to be equal in religiousness. He may favor one servant only for the piety and devotion he may show more than another, a fair standard of preference. The Lord is expected to wish good worldly and otherworldly lives for all of His servants on an equal footing, without any kind of indiscrimination.
In terms of fairness and justice, Islam is to be ranked as number one at the top of all religions, especially when it comes to the relationship between the strong and the weak. We notice that most religions overlook this relationship and do not lay due emphasis on it. A few religions handle such an important relationship, but they would instruct the strong to refrain from harming the weak or, in the best cases, show mercy to them. For example, the Bible states, “Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.”(Psalm 82:3, the New International Version)
Remarkably characterized by overall fairness and justice, Islam’s approach is quite unique, matchless and unrivaled. We notice that Islam not only commands the strong to abstain from harming the weak or show mercy to them, but also obligates the strong to show extra care to the weak as if the latter were the superior ever ones.
Prophet Mohammed said: “The weaker is the commander of the caravan.”(Al-Mawsily, Abu Al-Fath, Al-Mathal Al-Sair, 110/2). This prophetic statement shows how concerned Islam is for the weak. It places them in a specially higher rank so that they will not receive least harm and get as much advantage from the strong as possible. Islam makes an inferior and a servant of the strong to make sure they will not only desist from harming the weak but also work hard to benefit them and make them happy.
The reason why Islam made the strong seemingly inferior to the weak is that the strong are more fortunate, being armed with strength by which they can get their rights and lead a happy existence. Though they are still weak and dependent as human beings, they have advantage over the weak considering the strength they wield. So they are not as lacking in religion as the weak are; with or without it, they will get advantages. But, were it not for religion, the weak could not have got any sort of advantages or rights from the strong.
Under Islam, to be strong means to be chivalrous, generous and helpful. Strength is associated with magnanimity, tolerance and mercy in Islam, unlike any other religion or social system. Unfortunately, prior to Islam and even now in non-Islamic environments, strength and power may have such bad connotations of aggression, transgression and injustice. But, this is not the case under Islam.
Islam has an enlightened ideology that underlies the above described approach. The philosophy of strength and weakness in Islam is beyond the scope of this article. But we can summarize it in a few lines to highlight its distinct features.
Not all servants of Allah can be strong, nor can all of them be weak. Allah confers strength on certain servants so that they will utilize it not only to their own benefit but to the benefit of the weak also. Strength is Allah’s and it is He Who favors with it whomever He selects out of the masses of His servants.
Thus, a strong or powerful human being does not really own such strength or power he has, but it belongs to Allah Who assigns it to him so that whereby he will benefit himself and other fellow human beings who are less fortunate and do not have such power or strength. Hence, according to the Islamic philosophy, it is quite safe to say that strength is common property, with some members of the Muslim community entrusted with it to bring advantage to everybody within the Muslim realm.
Under Islam, the strong can not use the strength Allah blesses them with to harm the weak for, in this case, the weak’s suffering will be a double one given helplessness and harm at the same time. Such a terrible double suffering can in no way be allowed by Islam, the religion of fairness and justice. The weak are deprived of strength so as to avoid a potential conflict among beings with equal strength, not to cause them suffering.
Accordingly, in Islam, the strong are seen as guardians, caretakers and trustees who have to serve and work for the weak, who are viewed as the charges and wards of the strong and who are to show gratitude, respect and appreciation to the strong. Consequently, we observe that the weak benefit from the strength the strong have more than the strong themselves do when it comes to material advantage and physical utilization. The weak get material benefit in return for abstract consideration. But this is Islam and this is the community Islam is keen to establish. It is such a community where the weaker is the commander of the caravan as Prophet Mohammed instructed.
