Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : UNIVERSITI ISLAM ANTARABANGSA,
PETALING JAYA, SELANGOR
Tarikh/Date : 06/04/87
Tajuk/Title : PERASMIAN SEMINAR PENGURUSAN ISLAM
ANJURAN BERSAMA BANK PEMBANGUNAN
ISLAM (IDB) DAN
KEMENTERIAN PELAJARAN
Assalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh
Yang Berhormat Encik Anuar Ibrahim,
Menteri Pelajaran Malaysia;
Dif-Dif Kehormat;
Tuan-tuan dan puan-puan.
Alhamdulillahirabbil alamin wasalatu wasalamu ala
syidina Muhammadin wa ala alihi wasahbihi ajmain. Segala
pujian bagi Allah Subhanahu Wataala dan salam sejahtera ke
atas junjungan kita Nabi Muhammad s.a.w. Dengan izin Allah
kita dapat bersama-sama pada hari ini untuk menjayakan
Seminar ini.
2. Saya ingin merakamkan ucapan penghargaan dan
kegembiraan Kerajaan kepada Bank Pembangunan Islam yang
telah memilih Kuala Lumpur sebagai tempat mengadakan Seminar
ini. Saya juga merakamkan penghargaan kepada Kementerian
Pelajaran kerana menjadi penganjur bersama Seminar ini.
Adalah diharap Seminar ini akan berjalan dengan lancar dan
memberi faedah kepada kita semua. Saya yakin hasil dari
Seminar ini kelak boleh membantu negara-negara Islam,
termasuk Malaysia, dalam usaha memperbaiki lagi
pengurusan masing-masing.
3. Seminar ini disertai oleh peserta-peserta dari luar
negeri, dan oleh itu saya meminta izin untuk menyampaikan
ucapan saya seterusnya dalam Bahasa Inggeris.
4. Praise be to Allah, from Whom we seek aid, guidance and
forgiveness. And the blessings of Allah on His noble
Prophet Muhammad s.a.w., his family, his companions and
followers till the end of time.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
5. It is indeed an honour for me to have been invited here
to open this Seminar on Islamic Management, jointly
organised by the Islamic Development Bank and the Ministry
of Education. I hope that this Seminar will try to muster
the experiences and ideas of the participants to assist in
achieving a dynamic, thriving, and practicable Islamic
system of management in the modern world.
6. As we are all aware the religion of Islam is not
determined by the acceptance and practice of rituals alone.
Islam is a way of life, a practical religion which guides
and provides for dealing with every aspect of life. Muslims
cannot continue to be satisfied with vague statements that
"Islam is a complete way of life" with no attempt to
operationalise Islam's eternal ideals in our practical
day-to-day life. If we say that Islam is for all times then
we must apply it to the conditions prevailing in our times.
Any attempt to recreate the state of affairs at the time of
the Prophet, in order to enable us to practise the teachings
of Islam would be an admission that Islam is good for Arabia
in the 7th. century of Masihi or the 1st. century of the
Hijrah only. Such a tacit admission would be contrary to
Islam.
Distinguished participants,
7. The challenge of developing a modern management system
compatible with Islam and yet capable of competing with the
current westernised system is only daunting because we
emphasise difference as being the essence. And so we strive
to change all the practices in order to be different. Yet
Islam is not Islamic because it differs from the earlier
religions of the book. Indeed there are many origins, ideas
and concepts in Islam that are identical with those of the
Christians and the Hebrews. Islam is Islam because it
practices the holy and noble values which the others either
did not have or have discarded. It is these values and
practices which distinguishes Islam and makes it a way of
life rather than a set of rituals for the hereafter. And
these values are for all times and are compatible with any
and every age and situation.
8. An Islamic system of management in the fifteenth
cen tury Hijrah must of necessity be a new and modern
experiment directed towards achieving the goals of Islam and
translating its values and principles in the context of
present day life. The Qur'an and the Sunnah are the primary
sources of course, but there is also a great deal to be
learnt from the history of the Muslims who ruled most of the
civilised world for centuries with one of the most efficient
systems of management and administration known to mankind.
9. However, the challenge for those who would try to seek
out ways of Islamising the discipline of management by
reference to old practices and books, is made more difficult
by the neo-conservative approach of some Muslims who demand
a total reintroduction of a hotch-potch of ossified ancient
laws and regulations devised to deal with situations which
have long since disappeared. Past practices may be used as
guides but they are certainly not an intrinsic part of
Islamic dogma. The static traditionalism of some Muslims
whose taqlid-orientation goes against the dynamism of the
Qur'an has meant that they have divorced themselves from
human needs and conditions. These scholars have given the
legal decisions of the early Muslim jurists the value of
eternal law, elevating them to the status of divine
authority. Such is their insistence that even when these old
authorities contradict the Qur'an, no one may dispute them.
The role of ijtihad is forgotten or circumscribed and that
of al-istislah or public interest not even mentioned in
passing.
10. Apart from drawing out the general and ethical
principles from the specific rulings of the Qur'an, we also
need to learn to analyse contemporary reality using the
basic and eternal concepts of Islam. It must be remembered
that the early interpreters of the Qur'an and the Sunnah
worked within the context of the situation prevailing at
their times. They were not wrong. But the times and the
situations have changed much and what was appropriate then
may not be so now. The Qur'an and the Sunnah serve to guide
us. Only on exceptional matters are they specific. For the
rest, what is required of us is to stay within the
guidelines when we formulate or devise solutions to our
contemporary problems.
11. Indeed, that was the way of the Muslims during the
glorious era of Islam. The end of this glorious period came
when rigidity set in and the changed conditions were ignored
when interpreting and formulating the fiqh. If after 800
years Muslim Spain finally fell into Christian hands, it is
because the Muslims and their administrators and managers
failed to recognise the changed situation and tried to solve
15th century problems, with 7th century methods.
12. Of course, the downfall of the Muslims was also due to
the slow rot that their prosperity and power brought them.
They deserted the Qur'an and gave themselves up to the good
life. Tyranny, backwardness, exploitation and corruption
then eroded the foundations of Muslim kingdoms. Political
and administrative life became a playground for the
nefarious activities of self-seekers and knaves. The
combination of fossilised methods and approaches and the
decline of Islamic moral values, particularly in
administration and management, finally caused the downfall
of the Muslim nations.
Distinguished participants,
13. What is there that distinguishes Islamic management
from others? Is it the organisation and the hierarchy of
managers? Is it the accounting systems? Is it the strategy
or the objective? Actually the stress in Islam is on
justice. It is right to make profit but not from the misery
of others. Riba is forbidden because it has always been a
well-known cause of human misery. Similarly excessive
profit is proscribed by Islam because of the misery to those
who could otherwise afford to have the goods and the
services offered.
14. The Prophet (Peace be upon Him) was a manager and
trader. The quality most associated with him is
trustworthiness. It is for this that he became known as 'Al
Amin' or the trustworthy one. Muslim managers who should
follow the sunnah of the Prophet like everyone else must be
trustworthy. Such is the stress on trust that in Islam a
written contract is not really necessary. A Muslim's word
should be his bond. It is a measure of how much we have
forsaken the teachings of Islam that we have to have written
agreements all the time now.
15. There are some articles of faith in Islam that we must
all accept without question. But in the conduct of our
daily affairs the injunctions of Islam are always based on
reasons which thinking men, Muslims or otherwise, can
readily accept. It is up to us to look into these reasons
for guidance in our daily affairs rather than to regard the
injunctions as determinants of our belief in Islam.
Distinguished participants,
16. Only Allah is perfect and capable of perfection. Man
can only strive towards it but never achieve it. Islam
urges and instructs us to strive for perfection but does not
condemn those who, having tried, fail to achieve it. But
try we must. Certainly Muslims must try to adhere as
perfectly as possible to the Islamic ethical code in the
management of all worldy affairs.
17. The contemporary Muslim world presents a bewildering
array of stigmas and problems. There is a great deal of
discussion and debate about the role of Islam in the world
today. Some of it is constructive, some obviously not. But
from debates and discussions there should emerge ideas which
can present a practical route to a Muslim civilisation of
the future. It is the fusion of new ideas based on the
eternal principles of Islam and their practical
implementation that will shape the destiny of the ummah. I
hope this Seminar will exhibit an openness and flexibility
which can contribute to the process of implementing Islamic
codes and methods in the 15th century of the Hijrah.
Distinguished participants,
18. It is hoped that this Seminar will propose management
styles and ethics propagated by Islam. It certainly must
ensure that both Muslims and non-Muslims enjoy a fair and
efficient Islamic management. It is my belief that what
this Seminar will come up with will constitute an 'ijtihad".
It must therefore examine interpretations of the Quran and
Hadith in the light of the management problems faced by
Muslim societies at present. If we fail to consider that
point, we will fail to ensure that Islam is a religion for
all times.
19. I pray that you will achieve success in your pioneering
deliberations. It is with this hope and in the name of
Allah the Merciful and the Compassionate, that I declare
open this Seminar on Islamic Management.
Wabillahi taufik walhidayah wassamu'alaikum
warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
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