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5 C’s

1) COMPASSION:

Islam is generally associated with Jihad. But it is more due to its history than its

theology. It is interesting to note that while jihad in Islam is more historical than theological, compassion, on the other hand, is more theological than historical. The very opening of Qur’an,

the holy book of Islam is with Bism Allahir Rahmanir Rahim i.e. I begin in the name of Allah who is Compassionate and Merciful.

Thus it will be seen that Compassion is one of the names of Allah and it is among the most popular names of Allah. Muslims always begin their name with this incantation i.e. ‘I begin in

the name of Allah who is Compassionate and Merciful’. A Muslim, who worships Allah has to be compassionate in his own behavior else his/her worship would not be complete. There are

four key values in Qur’an which are repeatedly emphasized are: Justice (‘adl), benevolence (ihsan), compassion (rahmah) and wisdom (hikmah) and compassion is one of them. Jihad, on the other hand, is not value but an instrument to realize certain objectives.

The Prophet of Islam too is described in Qur’an as rahmat lil ‘alamin i.e. mercy of the worlds. Since Prophet is messenger of Allah he too has to represent His virtues on earth. Allah is perfect and so His Prophet has to be a perfect human being imbibing all the attributes of Allah. So other

believers (mu’minun) also must, with all their limitations, imbibe these virtues.

A believer, who is not compassionate within possible human limits, is no believer at all. A true believer has to imbibe all those values represented by Allah and His Messenger. In other words

Qur’an and sunnah (Prophet’s sayings and doing) are binding on all Muslims and there is complete consensus on it among all Muslim theologians belonging to all sects of Islam.

Prophet lived in such historical situation and socio-political conjunction that occasionally he had to take to arms to defend himself and his community but this historical necessity cannot be

counted as obligatory or value-oriented. At the most it can be called necessity-oriented. Al-Qaeda and some similar groups representing a miniscule minority among Muslims, are

projecting jihad as if it is central value and obligatory. It is total falsification of teachings of Islam.

2) COMMITMENT:

Islam means "the way of commitment and submission to God. Islam is the name of our religion, and Muslim is the person who practices our religion," said Dr. Muzammil

Siddiqi, Director of the Islamic Society of Orange County in California.

A kind, soft-spoken man in his mid-forties, Dr. Siddiqi has dark hair, a moustache, and a generous beard with hints of gray whiskers. Spirit shines through his dark eyes.

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He greeted me very cordially when we met in his small, simple office in Garden Grove. In his subdued tweed jacket and light shirt with the top button open, he seemed relaxed, truly happy.

While born in India, Dr. Siddiqi received his doctorate in comparative religions at Harvard

University. He was happy to relate to me the Islamic tradition of higher consciousness and spirituality. We sat comfortably around his book-laden desk. I began my questions about higher

levels of consciousness.

Dr. Siddiqi readily understood. "Islam is a way of peace and perfection, and a Muslim is a person striving toward that way. A Muslim is working toward peace in the full sense of the

word not just absence of war peace, meaning wholeness, completeness, being without any defect, without any inadequacy, being perfect, being full. A Muslim is not claiming that he is perfect, but he is striving, struggling within himself and with the society around him, to reach to that

goal, to that aim that he has before himself. Islam is a continuous struggle, a continuous work."

"Please continue," I urged.

"As a result of the devoted life in frequent prayer, devotional activity, simplicity, charity to others, humility, patience, and constancy, the believer becomes more whole, more filled with

peace, love, compassion and awareness. These virtues, as they become living attributes in each devotee, develop into a state of higher consciousness called fana."

He went on, "Always the highest thing that teachers and masters would work on in helping a

believer is what is called a state of fana. Fana means that you totally forget yourself. You forget who you are. You feel that you are not doing an activity but rather that the action is being done through you.

"So," he underscored, "in all your activities, you commit yourself completely to God. You give

yourself to God, and that’s what Islam means. Islam does not take its name from any person — as Christianity takes its name from Christ or Buddhism takes its name from Buddha — or

Hinduism receives its name from the Indus River and Valley of India.

"You see," he leaned toward me, "the central basic point of Islam is consciousness of God."

3) CHARACTER:

The Holy Quran states: "Surely there is for you the best example in the

Messenger of Allah (Muhammad Sallallahu-Alayhi-Wasallam), for whoever seeks the pleasure

of Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah often (much)."

(Surah Al-Ahzaab: 21)

Almighty Allah also says: "By the pen and that which they (men) inscribe. You are not, by the

grace of your Lord, possessed. And surely for you is a reward unceasing (unfailing). And surely

you are of great character."

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(Surah Al-Qalam: 1-4)

Good conduct and noble character are the most valuable and precious assets of any human

society. They are the treasures of pride for any individual. They build nations and make them

imitable among others. No human society can be humane without them. Nations and people

without good conduct and high character are nothing but a group of animals living with laws of

the Jungle. People of high character and good conduct are high in any society.

There are two levels of character; an ordinary and a superior level. An ordinary character is

based on this principle: "Do as you have been done by." Such a character might be termed a

`knee-jerk character', because whoever possesses such a character, offers only `reflex responses'

to treatment by others; i.e. breaking with those who break with him, wronging those who wrong

him, and harming those who harm him.

However, the higher level of character is based on a different principle. This higher principle is:

"Do as you would like to be done by." This principle is elaborated by our Holy Prophet

Muhammad (Sallallahu-Alayhi-Wasallam) in another way: "Love for your brother what you love

for yourself."

Whoever possesses such a character deals with both, friends and foes, in the same manner,

irrespective of how this principle and way of thinking could easily change the behaviour of the

whole human society. This is the moral revolution which paves way for all other successful and

lasting revolutions and changes in society.

If all people could adopt this highly principled character, the enmity, antagonism, envy and

bloody confrontations would diminish from the human society. The person possessing this

character is reconciliatory, even joining with those who break with him. He is compassionate,

even to those who seek to harm him. He is forbearing, even towards those who wrong him. This

is the principle of ethics for the Muslim Ummah.

We all know that our Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu-Alayhi-Wasallam) was the Final Prophet.

He completed the principles of Islamic beliefs and teachings. He also came to accomplish the

principles of noble characters and human values, as he stated himself saying: "I am sent in my

mission to accomplish the principles of noble characters."

Our Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu-Alayhi-Wasallam), as a teacher of the best and highest

conduct and characters, was himself an embodiment of all noble qualities and values. The whole

of Makkah had witnessed his noble characters for forty years before he received revelations, and

called him Al-Sadiq and Al-Ameen. Friends and foes nobody could dispute his sublime

characters.

It is a fact that those who are closer to a person usually do not hold him in such high esteem as

those who are further away. However this does not seem to be true in the case of our prophet

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(Sallallahu-Alayhi-Wasallam). History tells us that the closer one came to our Prophet

(Sallallahu-Alayhi-Wasallam), the more one was taken by his fine qualities. The more the people

knew him, the higher the respect they paid to him. This is in no way an exaggerated claim. The

finest details of his characters and behaviours are recorded on the pages of history books.

4) CREATIVITY:

Muslims' skills in technological sciences were not confined to the building of

mosques, minarets, domes, barrages, dams etc., but their works demonstrated creativity, as well

as that sense of beauty, which characterized the Muslim scientist. Muslim scientists made use of

those sciences to bring comfort and delight to humans.

Islamic civilization scientists created a number of complicated mechanical inventions to perform

a number of functions. In addition to those tools operational efficiency, they had an aesthetic

function, which was by no means less significant than the operational one. Such and aesthetic function could be noticed in some inventions,

Ibn Kathir reported that one of the Ummayad Mosque gates was called the Hours Gate, as there were a number of clocks placed at that gate. Those clocks were invented by clockmaker and

engineer Mohammed Ibn Ali father of Fakhr Al-Din Ridhwan Al-Sa’ati. Those clocks were used to show each hour passing during the daytime. One of those clocks had sparrows, a snake of

copper and a crow. When the clock strikes an hour, the snake gets out, the sparrows twitter, the crow caws and a small copper ball falls down into a cup, therefore people know that an hour had passed. Al-Jazari also made a clock similar to that clock.

Ibn Jubaryr described that clock saying “The original device was located on the right side of the

person who leaves the Ummayad Mosque from Jayrun gate. The description of the clock comes as follows: The clock has twelve brass doors; each one rotates on the hour to show its back face

with the number of hour that has passed. Above each door there is a copper dome, each dome rises after an hour has passed. At the sides of the copper doors two falcons throw copper balls into a large copper cup to produce a ring. There is a semi-circular disc called the night circle that

contains 12 circular openings that get lit when the clock turns to show time at night.

5) CRITICAL THING:

Critical thinking is the ability to engage in reasoned discourse

with intellectual standards such as clarity, accuracy, precision, and logic, and to use analytic

skills with a fundamental value orientation that emphasizes intellectual humility, intellectual

integrity, and fair-mindedness.

Critical thinking is defined as reflective skepticism. Critical thinking is away to approach

problems and make decisions. By using critical thinking one can enjoy benefits throughout one’s

long life. Experience dictates that critical thinking is essential to both effective learning and

productive living.

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Mankind is going through the information age where ideas are plentiful. However what is lacking is the ability to evaluate ideas in a constructive manner. People with reasoning skills

across a variety of situations will find jobs waiting for them. It is paramount to make the students learn how to think critically so that they can become most marketable. Current jobs and future

jobs will be displaced by new technologies. The vital requirement for future jobs will be the ability to think critically. Fluctuations in the job market means that tomorrow's workers in order to survive should learn new skills. One should decide which skills are worth learning. Such

decisions require critical thinking. Critical thinking means "involving or exercising skilled judgment or observation." Thinking is critical when it evaluates the reasoning behind a decision.

Evaluation means that critical thinkers examine the outcomes of thought processes for their positive and negative attributes. But for thinking to be critical, evaluation must be carried forth in a constructive manner (3).

Thinking includes problem solving, decision-making, critical thinking, logical reasoning and

creative thinking. Thinking involves the appropriate use of knowledge, and this ability is not developed spontaneously (hastily). In America educators are emphasizing on enhancing critical

thinking. Critical Thinking is an academic "buzz" word.