In the Name of Allah, The Most Beneficent, The Most Merciful.
Liberalism etymologically derived from Latin word "liber" which means worthy, generous, unrestrained and permissive. And to liberalise means, to free, or having personal freedom as it is being used in economics theory in favour of laissez-faire and the free market. The word, in this context, is adopted to mean a mind engagement from restricted mindset to an ability to get freedom grant for the heart.
This concept calls for seeing beauty and ability to appreciate it. This is a means where by a truth, good deed found with someone around us, and having a good mindset to appreciate the truth or the good deed without castigating or going extra mile to disrupt or neglect that deed. It is an ability to open to truth wherever it is being met and a courage to repel prejudice and dogmatic stand where fore the positive stand is not maintained for the benefit or interest of personal ego.
Liberalism comes forward because attitude of one owes its source to the one's thought whose custodian is human heart. In other words, attitude reveals way of thinking of the individual, which in all ramifications has direct and indirect implications to our society. In Islamic context, you are yet to complete as muslim if what runs within your heart is not holy. Allah says:
"And by Nafs (Adam or a person or a soul) and Him Who perfected him in proportion; Then He showed him what is wrong for him and what is right for him; Indeed he succeeds who purifies his ownself (i.e. obeys and performs all that Allah ordered, by following the truth of Islamic monotheism and by doing righteous deeds). And indeed he fails who corrupts his ownself (i.e. disobeys what Allah has ordered by rejecting the true faith of Islamic monotheism or by following polytheism, etc. or by doing every kind of evil wicked deeds). Q91:7-10.
The holiness of heart gives way to the admired attitude that people may jealous to possess and taking you as an icon of peace which Islam stands and calls for in our systemic life. We are yet to be an anticipated muslim by Allah and His Prophet (PBUH) when we defy to purify our mind and soul from blemishes that tie us down.
This is ideological concept of liberalism, an ability to untie our mindset from dogmatic heresy whose result is superiority complex among the Ummah today of which has contributed tremendous set back to the uniqueness, unity and development of Islamic world.
The power to resuscitate unity lies in liberalism, the emphatic passion to gain understanding or wisdom from what other fellow muslims are doing as practice even if we are not of knowledge about the practice. This will give a keen approach to such practices and allow us to learn the basis that surround that practices which allow us to have sense of empathy.
We all believe that Allah is the beginning and the end of all issues; i.e. The totality of all affairs is with Him, nothing He is unknown and His knowledge pervades all things. But in His mightiness, says in Suratul Al-'imran:
"And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allah (i.e. this Quran), and be not divided among yourselves, and remember Allah's Favour on you, for you were enemies one to another but He joined your hearts together, so that, by His Grace, you became brethren (in Islamic Faith), and you were on the brink of a pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus Allah makes His Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.,) clear to you, that you may be guided." Q3:103.
calling for our unity in all conditions regardless, He knows that we will not agree to certain understanding or issues in the tenet of His religion, Islam. The process where by scholar A stages a Fatwah on scholar B to point out his mistakes is not worthwhile and is detrimental. We are suffering from external forces then let's stop internal strife.
The truth and the good deeds am referring to in above paragraph is the practical fact that is in accordance with the Qur'an and the Sunnah which a fellow group adopts to their doctrine as part of their religious exercises. The Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH) is vast and complex to adopt so, if you are fortunate to live with some then be grateful hence, don't condemn other(s) that adopt what is different to yours for the sake that he does not do or is not capable of doing the way you do. Because a Muslim to the Prophet's hadith reported by Amr bn Absah as recorded in Shu'ab Al-Iman with Sohih says: a man said, "O Messenger of Allah, what is Islam?" The Messenger of Allah said:
"That you surrender your heart to Allah and that the Muslims are safe from your tongue and hand."
In addition to this, Hassan Al-Basri (RA) says: "If you would be pleased to be safe and for your religion to be safe for you, then restrain your hand from harming the lives of people, restrain your tongues from harming their honour and restrain your stomachs from consuming their wealth." (Makarim Al-Akhlaq lil-Kharāit).
To this extent, liberalism is only way out to save our Ummah from this terrible disease. It's the only antidote to heal our sicken heart. The Prophet Muhammad (Sollallahu alaihi Wa salam) says in Buhari that,
"...Truly in the body there is a morsel of flesh, which, if it be whole, all the body is whole, and which, if it is diseased, all of the body is diseased. Truly, it is the heart. "
Therefore, let learn to see and appreciate beauty of one another. An indicative scenario of your family, you could imagine why you are unable to reach a consensus on a matter arises among you, but despite that, that does not remove you nor them from your family. If a family cannot live in absence of discord or little partiality or differences, it's a logical wisdom that a nation as vast as Islam cannot live the same understanding and under the same ideology. Adopt live and let live, a means of promoting peace among the adherents of peace, Islam.
"And if your Lord had so willed, He could surely have made mankind one Ummah [nation or community (following one religion only i.e. Islam)], but they will not cease to disagree." Q11:118.
As-salam alaikum Wa rahmatullahi Wa barakaatuhu.
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