我们常常听到这样的说法：伊斯兰教法需要与时俱进。也常常听到这样的论点：显然，我们的世界已不同于伊斯兰降临时七世纪的阿拉伯世界。因此，既然时代变了，法律和伦理也就必须随之改变。

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.

首先，事情并没有人们所想象的那样发生了翻天覆地的变化。人依然是人。我们的根本本性并没有发生剧烈的转变，以至于需要某些穆斯林进步人士和改革者所呼吁的那种改革。

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.

其次，这种态度实际上暴露出对法律与道德的逻辑本质和方向存在根本性的混淆。道德所描述的并不是世界现在的样子，而是世界应当成为的样子。想要根据世界上发生的事情来修改我们的道德承诺，在逻辑上是站不住脚的。的确，我们可能会了解到一些新的事实，从而影响我们如何运用道德准则；但这些新事实不会改变所要应用的道德原则本身。

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.

Example: 示例： 作为穆斯林，我们知道高利贷（riba）的恶果。在现代世界，高利贷无处不在。有人可能会说，鉴于这种“新现实”，穆斯林应当重新考虑他们对高利贷的严格态度。他们会主张，伊斯兰需要所谓的“经济改革”。实际上，并不存在需要这种改革的突破性新现实。买卖与追求利润的基本原理，在整个人类文明史中始终基本相同。诚然，每个具体情境都有其细节需要考虑，历史上伊斯兰传统学术在回应各个时代的种种变化方面也非常灵活。但是，基本的道德原则是一贯的。如果世界如今深陷高利贷之中，穆斯林就应当更加坚决地反对这种新常态。这才是规范性的方向：基于我们的伦理承诺，我们希望让世界变得更好，而不是为了迎合周围世界的要求而改变我们的伦理承诺。

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.

当然，有时世界似乎一成不变。有时我们会被世界与我们所知的真理和公义之间的巨大背离所压倒。但我们绝不应失去希望，也不应陷入虚无主义式的厌恶，去憎恨我们同为人类的兄弟姐妹。

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.

最令人充满希望的一段圣训是:“如果复活日即将来临,而你们中有人手里正拿着一根棕榈树苗,那么即使只剩一秒钟,他也应当抓住时机把它种下。”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

无论局势看起来多么糟糕、多么令人绝望，我们都有道德上的责任尽己所能。

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