We hear and obey
This statement is the mantra of Muslims in their lives, and it is the password that many who are interested in researching the mechanism of Muslims following their religion may not understand. Muslims - as followers of the last Messenger (PBUH) who was sent to the entire mankind and who came to conclude the message of the prophets before him - learned to obey God’s commands without arguing. But God (Allah) is so generous to us that He commanded us not to close our minds or stop thinking about the wisdom of His commands, and gave us the freedom to ask questions and use reason to understand the wisdom in His commandments.
God forbade alcohol, so the early Muslims said, “We heard and obeyed.” After the progress of scientific research, it became clear that alcohol has very harmful effects on the liver and heart, and harms consciousness. God forbade pork to Muslims, so the Muslims said, “We heard and obeyed.” Today the world acknowledges that there are worms in pork that should not be eaten. High cooking temperatures kill them but may cause fatal damage that destroys the immune system and extends to the brain!
God forbade gambling, usury and bribery, and we said, “We hear and obey.” Today, the societies in which these transactions are widespread suffer from economic problems that stifle the individual as well as the whole society.
God commanded women to cover their bodies except the face and hands, so they said, “We heard and obeyed.” The Muslim woman is free, forcing men outside her home to deal with her in relation to her intellect and personality, and not as we see in some societies where women and their bodies are exploited to promote sales, where she is considered a beautiful thing that should be noticed by others.
In Islam there are 26 cases of inheritance. In one case, the brother should take double his sister’s share, so we said, “We heard and obeyed,” because the woman in Islam is not obliged to spend on anyone. Rather, males must spend on their female relatives. Any woman in his family has financial rights over him!
Polygyny, which is allowed (in specific cases), safeguards single mothers who, in some societies, bear responsibility for themselves and their children alone, and addresses the problem of divorced and single women with nobody to protect them, spend on them, defend them, love them, and take care of them, especially when there is a shortage of men for one reason or another.
God forbade sexual relations outside the framework of marriage, so we said, “We heard and obeyed.” Now social studies confirm that disobeying God in this regard destroys families, as well as the psychological health of the children. The societal structure becomes imbalanced, and trust between the spouses is fractured. This is something you do not find in true Islamic societies.
God commanded us to fast, so we said, “We heard and obeyed.” Today the world is discovering the wisdom of fasting, including the regeneration of stem cells, getting rid of excess weight, learning self-control, and softening the heart, other than feeling the pain of the poor who are starving and no one feels it!
The way of life for a Muslim is different from that of any other individual because the Muslim lives his life according to the laws of the Creator who knows the psychology, health and interests – among others - of His creation. Our limited minds may or may not reach the wisdom of His legislation. This does not make any difference to me as a Muslim, because I have reached the most important criterion in obedience or disobedience, which is based on the conclusion that this universe has a Creator.
Then I continued searching until I learned that Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and the messengers before him were honest in conveying their messages from God and that the Holy Quran is the Book and Word of God, and that we are here to pass the test and achieve the highest grades in the short time allotted to us. So, after we have arrived at the answers to the most important questions, what comes after that will be easy for the Muslim, which is to say, “We heard and obeyed!”
— Courtesy of Kuwaiti Society for Cultural Dialogue