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Printed: Thursday 28 Syawal 1431 7 October 2010 11:48:09
Am
Articles: Using technology to understand Islam
Shaikh Mohd Saifuddeen Shaikh Mohd Salleh
Fellow Kanan Institut Kefahaman Islam
Malaysia
15/02/2003
| New Straits Times
IT is not difficult to see
why some people do not regard technology as being important to Islam.
Technology" is a word that could not to be found in the Quran nor the
prophetic traditions. The word has Greek and Latin origins.
"Technology" is derived from the Greek word "tekhnologia"
and the Latin word "technolo-gia" which can roughly be translated to
"a systematic approach in doing things".
Since the word
"technology" is not of Arabic origin, it is of no surprise that it
could not be found in either the Quran or Hadith. However, this does not mean
that there is no mention of the usage of technology in both these im-portant
sources of reference for Muslims.
For anyone who studies the
Quran as well as the Hadith, they would easily find many instances where the
usage of "technology" is mentioned. Of course, most of these
instances are subtle, but if a person were to think deeply, he or she would find
the use of technology is implied.
The Quran, for example,
mentions various technologies to be found throughout civil-isation such as
ship-building, navigation, metallurgy, construction and information and
communication technology (ICT). In Verse 23 of Surah al-Mukminun, for instance,
God tells of the story of Prophet Nuh who was instructed to build an ark as a
refuge for the believers from the great storm that was approaching. No doubt
there is no mention of "technology" from this verse.
Nonetheless, one can
deduce from this verse that in order to build an ark that could withstand the
terrible thunderstorm and at the same time carry many people and animals
without sinking would require the appropriate knowledge in shipbuilding. This
knowledge is "technology". That is why Islam always stresses the
importance of gaining and mastering knowledge, and thus, gaining and mastering
technology. This has always been the prerequisite for any civilisation to
advance; and the same still rings true. Looking at what is transpiring in
today's world, one could see that "he who possesses technology controls
the world".
Much has been said about
the need for Muslims to master technology, but unfortunately little has been
done about it. As a result, we see Muslims of today being belittled and left
behind in all areas. Muslims must realise that knowledge 'and technology' will
benefit the Muslim world at large.
All this while, ICT has
been used to disparage Islam with negative images such as terrorism, poverty, illiteracy
and the likes. Muslims should realise that ICT also provides a level playing
field for everyone. Hence, anyone with knowledge of ICT, including Muslims,
could make full use of it. Efforts should be taken to ensure Muslims capitalise
on this technology to correct the distorted image of Islam. Muslims could make
use of ICT to de-demonise Islam.
Technology could also be
used to further enhance the understanding of both Muslims and non-Muslims on
Islam. When we say "technology", we are not just limiting ourselves
to ICT. This fact should be realised by the preachers of Islam. There should be
a new generation of preachers or daie who could utilise modern tools and
technology to disseminate the correct understanding of Islam. This new breed of
daie 'the techno-daie if you will' is an important aspect of modern Islam.
Without them, it would be difficult to present the true Islam in this post-modern
world that we now live in.
The new generation in
particular are be-coming more techno-savvy. So what better way to approach the
post-modern generation than to apply that which they are most comfortable with?
Why not use technology to narrow the gap between the daie and the community?
ICT, for instance, could be utilised to the maximum by the techno-daie to disseminate
information on Islam. Multimedia, to take an example, could be used to teach
young children how to read the Quran correctly.
Multimedia is interactive
and combines the usage of most senses. This would make learning the Quran more
interesting, especially to today's children. ICT also presents an endless
possibility to the techno-daie. Say, for instance, a techno-daie were to
deliver a lecture in a mosque. He could make use of web-based presentation
tools to make his talk more interesting. The audience would also be able to
remember more effectively if multimedia is used.
Also, if classical works
of Islam such as the voluminous Imam Syafii's Kitab al-Umm or Ibn Khaldun's
Muqaddimah are produced in the form of CD-ROM, this would help the techno-daie
carry these references anywhere. The techno-daie would just need to carry a
couple of CD-ROMs as opposed to several volumes of very thick books around. All
the techno-daie would need is of course a laptop, which is becoming lighter and
much easier to carry as technology progresses. In Verse 125 of Surah al-Nahl of
the Quran, God says to the effect that: "Invite (all) to the way of thy
Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are
best and most gracious: for thy Lord knoweth best, who have strayed from His
path, and who receive guidance".
Using technology for
dakwah is in line with using wisdom and beautiful preaching in dakwah as
mentioned in the verse. The advancement of technology also demands that the
audience be techno-savvy as well. Tools such as the palmtop and the personal
digital assistant (PDA) should be used by audience of a religious lecture to
take down notes. Listening alone is not sufficient. Research has shown that to
fully understand what is being taught, one must listen and jot down what one
hears. This, unfortunately, is rarely done by Muslims when it comes to
learning. Looking back at the history of Islam, we could see that one of the
most revered scholars of Islam, Imam Syafii, is someone who never failed to
write down what he learnt. During his early years as a student, he was too poor
to purchase proper writing materials. Nevertheless this did not deter him even
a little bit. He used his palm and saliva to replace the materials he could not
afford to buy.
Imam Syafii may have used his palm to
study. In this day and age, we could use palmtops and PDAs. Maybe in the past,
it is cumbersome to carry around books, pens, pencils and erasers especially if
one is going to the mosque. However, today with the palmtop and PDA, things are
made very much easier for us. Why not take advantage of this develop-ment in
order to better ourselves with the knowledge of Islam? Why should this
technology not be used in our quest to truly un-derstand Islam? Perhaps, aside
from the importance of creating a new breed of daie, that is the techno-daie,
we must also at the same time focus on creating a new breed of ummah, that is
the techno-ummah.
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