The 30 Principles of Moderate & Balanced Thought (Part III)

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By Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi | Translated by Yasir Fikry Fahmy

Part I | Part II | ­Part III­

21. To become financially and economically strong and self-sufficient through the principles of Islam, while working on developing models of Islamic finance that will rival prevailing models.

22. Belief in the absolute unity of the Muslim Ummah (community),  as well as the brotherly and sisterly bonds that must exist despite differences in schools of thought; recognition of the various sects as long as we all face the same qiblah (direction for prayer) and believe in the Qur’an and sunnah (actions, habits, and words of the Prophet ﷺ.

23. To maintain a good opinion of all those who bear witness in Allah subahanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He) and His Messenger ﷺ, face the same qibla and do not explicitly contradict these fundamental principles. Our natural state should be to view others as inherently good and to steer clear of extolling kufr (disbelief) or fisq (disobedience) on others, especially on issues that are left up to interpretation.

24. To care for Muslim minorities across the world, and encourage them to live fruitful Islamic lives in their societies as contributing citizens.  The modus operand of these minorities should be to live steadfast lives without secluding themselves, and integrating without diluting.

25. Belief in religious, ethnic, linguistic, cultural and political pluralism, and the need for a peaceful co-existence of societies as well as a cross-fertilization of cultures.

26. To be concerned with growth and development in all spheres of life (both material and non-material), while caring for the environment with all its components. Nations and individuals must cooperate to facilitate and bring ease to peoples’ lives, and seek to extract and spread beauty in the world. All this must be considered an act of worship as well as a struggle in the way of Allah (swt).

27. Advocates of reform and change should combat underdevelopment and corruption in all their forms, for underdevelopment disables the mind and corruption hinders the conscience of the Ummah. True reform only takes place when it’s enacted by a people by their own will, and should never be imposed. All reform begins with a reformation of corrupt systems of governance, and the basis of all human change is a change from within.

28. Seeking to unify all those who work in the way Islam, this unity does not necessitate that individuals meet in one group or a single movement. The difference and diversity of the workers does not hinder unity, if the difference is one of specialization and diversity, and not one of conflict and contradiction.

29. To pay tribute to our Ummah’s contribution to the world,  from marvelous historical achievements, to the liberation of those oppressed,  recognition of what the Islamic civilization has achieved in combining knowledge and faith.  We must not be reduced to praising ourselves due to the achievements of our forefathers or crying over some of the shortcomings. Our duty is to be inspired by the past, uplifted in the present, and envisioning the future.

30. To benefit from our vast and diverse heritage,  from the intricate nature of our fuqahaa (legal scholars), the principled nature of our usooliyoon (scholars of the fundamentals of Islamic Jurisprudence), the preservation of our hadith scholars (those who study the records of the words and actions of the Prophet ﷺ), the rationality of our mutaklimeen (scholars of Islamic creed), the spirituality of our mystics,  the delineation of our historians, the delicacy of our poets and writers,  the reflections of the wise, and the experiences of scholars, with the distinct understanding that this heritage is not infallible. It is subject to criticism, review, and discussion, where some opinions are accepted and others are weakened, while being aware that the Ummah will never agree upon an error.