Islam And Secularism

Islam and Secularism

By Sheikh Salman b. Fahd al-Oadah

General Supervisor of the IslamToday Website

INTRODUCTION

Praise be to Allah; we praise Him, seek His forgiveness, and turn to Him in repentance. We seek refuge with Him from the evils of our souls and the evils of our deeds. Whomever Allah guides, none can misguide, and whomever Allah leads astray, none can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

This short treatise began as a lecture that I gave many years ago at the Abû Bakr Grand Mosque in Madinah. My speech was concise and quite general, though the topic itself is vast and multifaceted. I have kept this treatise equally as concise to provide for readers who just need a general introduction to this topic.

For those readers who want to explore this matter further, there are many books available. One of the best, in my opinion, is the book Secularism written by my esteemed colleague Sheikh Safar al-Hawâlî.

I have organized this treatise into the following chapters:

Chapter One: A Contemporary Manifestation of Jâhiliyyah

Chapter Two: No Place for Secularism in the Muslim World

Chapter Three: How Secularism Came to Islamic Lands

Chapter Four: Defining a Secularist

Chapter Five: The Need to Confront Secularism

I ask Allah to make this effort of mine exclusively for His sake and to accept it from me. I humbly ask Him to reward me for it and to forgive me my mistakes. Truly, Allah is capable of all things.