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Loneliness & Despair

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Often this silent epidemic of loneliness, isolation and depression will be raised as the growing concern that it is and specialists from a number of areas will offer their perspective on the matter. The neurologist will study brain chemical activity insisting that serotonin and dopamine activities are irregular and this is the issue that needs to be addressed. The capitalist will focus on the loss of labour potential and the long term economic impact. The technology experts will blame this on the widespread constant usage of tablets and smartphones, that have essentially stifled real life social interactions, in exchange for a cyber-social world that isn’t able to address the real longing for human interactions. “When the culture and the communities that once connected us to one another disappear, we can be left feeling abandoned and cut off from society” [1] However, in a world full of specialists offering different perspectives, the elephant in the room is often given the blind eye
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The Free Market Fallacy

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The theory of Capitalism is presented as a Utopia of what is to be but never is. It is the bailout from its intrinsic corrupt motives and every free market advocate will offer “pure capitalism” as the solution to actual Capitalism. For every corruption mentioned for the reality of Capitalism, the utopian view of Capitalism will be presented; the utopia that never was and never can be. So the mention of the huge disparity of wealth between the rich and poor; the license for private entities and banks to produce currency out of thin air; the ability for powerful wealthy businesses to influence legislation in their favour; the theft of wealth from the working class; the corruption and exploitation through a fiat based currency; the running of a huge virtual economy functioning in the background much like a casino; the enslavement of third world countries through debt and compound interest and the manipulative “compassionate” face of Capitalism which offers Foreign Direct Investments and
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First Principles In Islamic Economics

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Brief on topics reviewed in “First Principles of Islamic Economics” by Sayyid Abul A’la Mawdudi(rh): “The Muslim world was a global economic power for several centuries, and it was not until the Western Enlightenment that economic stagnation or decline began to occur; and this lasted for more than 300 years” – Foreword This is when the decline of the Ummah and the Islamic state started to take place and this is when Muslims started to gather to question where exactly we went wrong. Was it that Islam was no longer relevant to solve societal problems? “The lowest point was the abolition of what was left of the symbolic Khilafah in 1924” – Foreword This was the crucial point where many Muslim intellectuals and prominent thinkers came in with their work for the revival and reconstruction of a broken Ummah. Amongst these names are Muhammad Iqbal, Hassan al Banna, Sayid Abul Ala Mawdudi and a host of other intellectuals and reformers who came up with positive responses in their work
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Thinking

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"Thoughts, in any nation, are the greatest fortune the nation gains in her life if the nation is newly born; and they are the greatest gift that any generation can receive from the preceding generation, provided the nation is deep-rooted in the enlightened thought" - The Economic System of Islam "If the material wealth of a nation is destroyed, it is possible for it to be restored quickly as long as the nation preserves its intellectual wealth"  - The Economic System of Islam The greatest wealth of a nation are their thoughts. The reference to "thoughts" in this context are those thoughts that are the foundation of any ideology or civilisation. This is in reference to the highest levels of thinking - i.e. the core thoughts that govern all other thoughts and actions. These are the thoughts that direct the entire vision of a civilisation and ideology. In this context, there are three types of thinking that need to be built within the Ummah:   1.       Po
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Goodboy Syndrome

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“A man should be like a child with his wife, but if she needs him, he should act like a man. ” - Umar ibn al-Khattab In the early years of childhood the parents praise the child for every achievement, good behaviour and obedience. The parents define the parameters of all that which is good and the child feeds off the praises he or she receives. Very often the child learns to do good as this equates to reward, praise and approval. Much of the time there is a need for a balance between praise, disapproval and punishment. Courses are offered to help new parents maintain this balance for children who become difficult to manage. This plays a pivotal role in the development of the child and the long term plan is to move the child from dependence to independence on the mental and emotional spectrum.   The military enforce strategies to ensure that these aspects do not act as obstacles to the outcomes they wish to reach. They aim to build individuals that are largely independent with qualit
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Our Decline

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There is an awe in the minds of many Muslims who settle in western secular liberal societies and often buried within themselves is a self-defeated mind-set. This self-defeated mind-set is one that finds comfort in praising the institutions, infrastructures and sense of order in western countries. When observing our own state of affairs, we are only able to refer to our own "Muslim countries" which are in turmoil, war, poverty and dictatorships. This type of thinking is known as shallow thinking - i.e. the observance of only that which is apparent and the inability to address or understand the root causes that cannot be seen at first glance. This is a neglect of our roots, our history and the civilisations we had once built, all so that we know only to refer to the realities and scripts our colonial masters had imposed upon us. Our current state of affairs and our inability to see beyond our desperate situation is a result of 300 years of decline, complemented and accelerated
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Paradoxical Frameworks

It is the paradox of the Muslim that he refers to Islam for the ahkam around Salah and Fasting and the personal ibadat, yet he abandons his deen and it is no longer a reference point when he aims to address the political will of the ummah. His very actions invalidate his bold claim that Islam is comprehensive and it is Islam that has a solution for every human problem. How can the Muslim truly have confidence in Islam when he refers to secular politics and the methodologies of other nations and ideologies to implement the true radical change that Islam demands? The Muslim fails to see that he has become victim to secular indoctrination where his leaning towards a secular framework to address even the problems of the ummah is almost subconscious - he seems to engage in these actions without the presence of deep thinking and comprehensive analysis of the problem at hand. If his mind was truly free from colonisation then he would see that the lands of the ummah are still colonised; th
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