Biz tez-tez Islom huquqi zamonga moslashishi kerakligini eshitamiz. Ko'pincha shunday dalil keltiriladi: bizning dunyomiz Islom paydo bo'lgan VII asr Arabistoni dunyosidan aniq farq qiladi. Demak, agar zamon o'zgargan bo'lsa, huquq va axloq ham o'zgarishi kerak.

We often hear that Islamic law needs to get with the times. We often hear the argument that clearly our world differs from the world of seventh-century Arabia at the advent of Islam. So, if times have changed, then law and ethics must change.

Birinchidan, odamlar o‘ylaganchalik ko‘p narsa o‘zgarmagan. Insonlar hali ham insonlardir. Bizning asosiy tabiatimiz shunchalik tubdan o‘zgarmaganki, bu musulmon progressivlari va islohotchilari talab qilayotgan turdagi o‘zgarishlarni zarur qilib qo‘ysin.

First of all, things have not changed as much as people like to think they have. Human beings are still human beings. Our fundamental nature has not drastically transformed such as would require the kind of reforms some Muslim progressives and reformers have been calling for.

Ikkinchidan, bu butun munosabat qonun va axloqning mantiqiy mohiyati va yo'nalishi haqida asosiy chalkashlikni ko'rsatadi. Axloq dunyo qanday ekanini emas, balki dunyo qanday bo'lishi kerakligini aks ettiradi. Axloqiy majburiyatlarimizni dunyoda sodir bo'layotgan voqealarga asoslanib o'zgartirmoqchi bo'lish mantiqqa zid. Albatta, biz qo'llash usullarimizga ta'sir qilishi mumkin bo'lgan yangi narsalarni o'rganishimiz mumkin. Ammo bunday yangi narsalar qo'lda turgan axloqiy printsipning o'zini o'zgartirmaydi.

Second of all, this entire attitude belies a fundamental confusion about the logical nature and direction of law and morality. Morality does not reflect how the world is but how the world ought to be. To want to edit our moral commitments on the basis of things that happen in the world is logically unsound. Sure, we can learn new things that may affect how we apply our moral standards. But such new things are not going to modify the actual moral principle at hand.

Misol: Musulmonlar sifatida biz riboning (foizli qarzning) axloqsizligini bilamiz. Zamonaviy dunyoda riba hamma joyda uchraydi. Ba'zilar bu "yangi haqiqat"ni hisobga olib, musulmonlar foizga oid qat'iyligini qayta ko'rib chiqishi kerak, deyishi mumkin. Ular Islomga, aytish mumkinki, "iqtisodiy islohot" kerak, deb bahs yuritadilar. Aslida, bunday islohotni talab qiladigan hech qanday yangi, tub o'zgarish yo'q. Sotib olish, sotish va foyda izlashning asosi butun insoniyat tsivilizatsiyasi davomida mohiyatan o'zgarmagan. Har bir kontekstda hisobga olinishi kerak bo'lgan tafsilotlar borligi rost, va an'anaviy islomiy ilm har bir davrning o'zgaruvchan sharoitlariga javob berishda juda dinamik bo'lgan. Ammo asosiy axloqiy tamoyillar izchil. Agar dunyo hozir foizga botgan bo'lsa, musulmonlar bu yangi me'yorga qarshi yanada ko'proq hushyorlik bilan turishlari kerak. Me'yoriylik yo'nalishi shunday: o'z axloqiy majburiyatlarimizga tayangan holda, biz dunyoni yaxshiroq tomonga o'zgartirishni istaymiz, atrofimizdagi dunyo talablariga moslashish uchun o'z axloqiy majburiyatlarimizni o'zgartirmaymiz.

Example: As Muslims, we know the immorality of riba. In the modern world, riba is everywhere. Some might say that given this “new reality,” Muslims should reconsider how strict they are about usury. They will argue that Islam needs an “economic reformation” so to speak. In actuality, there is no groundbreaking new reality that would require such a reformation. The basics of buying, selling, and the pursuit of profit has remained fundamentally the same for all of human civilization. Granted that there are details in every context that need to be accounted for, and historically traditional Islamic scholarship has been very dynamic in how it has spoken to the vagaries of every age. But, the basic moral principles are consistent. If the world is now drowning in usury, Muslims should be all the more vigilantly opposed to that new normal. That is the direction of normativity: On the basis of our ethical commitments, we desire to change the world for the better, not change our ethical commitments to accommodate the demands of the world around us.

Albatta, ba'zan dunyo o'zgarmas bo'lib tuyuladi. Ba'zan esa dunyo biz haqiqat va adolat deb bilganimizdan qanchalik uzoqlashib ketayotganini ko'rib, ezilib ketamiz. Ammo biz hech qachon umidimizni yo'qotmasligimiz va insoniyatdagi birodarlarimiz va opa-singillarimizga nisbatan nigilistik nafrat botqog'iga botmasligimiz kerak.

Of course, sometimes the world seems unchangeable. Sometimes we are overwhelmed by how drastically the world diverges from what we know to be truth and justice. But we should never lose hope or descend into a nihilistic loathing for our brothers and sisters in humanity.

Bu borada eng umidbaxsh hadis: "Agar Qiyomat (qiyomat kuni) qoim bo‘lay deb turganda, sizlardan birortangizning qo‘lida xurmo ko‘chati bo‘lsa, Qiyomat qoim bo‘lishidan oldin bir soniya bo‘lsa ham foydalanib, uni ekib olsin."38

The most hopeful hadith in this regard is: “If the Hour [the day of Resurrection] is about to be established and one of you was holding a palm shoot, let him take advantage of even one second before the Hour is established to plant it.”38

Qanchalik og'ir va umidsiz ko'rinmasin, vaziyat qanday bo'lishidan qat'i nazar, imkonimiz darajasida harakat qilish — bizning axloqiy burchimizdir.

No matter how dire and hopeless the circumstances may seem, it is our moral responsibility to do what we can.