The Prophet himself wouldn’t comment on some things, activist tells PAS

© Provided by FMT MEDIA SDN BHD Islamic Renaissance Front’s Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa.

PETALING JAYA: A prominent Muslim activist has ticked off PAS for citing a hadith (sayings attributed to Prophet Muhammad) to back the party’s stand against compelling MPs to declare their assets.

Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa reminded the Islamist party that the Prophet himself had avoided some topics because he felt he had no expertise in them.

He was responding to PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man’s citing of a hadith which advises Muslims to be discreet on monetary matters so that they will not be targeted by those envious of their wealth.

Farouk said this was not the first time Muslims had cited hadiths to justify their choice of political and economic policies, adding that Islam has largely left worldly matters to evolve according to time and space.

“Similarly, advocates of free markets have used the hadith that the Prophet prohibits any intervention to limit the price of goods in order for them to propagate the capitalist agenda,” Farouk, who heads the Islamic Renaissance Front, told FMT.

He said asset declaration was an innovative tool of good governance to help keep a check on public officials who could enrich themselves through their positions.

He questioned the argument that making a public official’s wealth known would pose a danger to personal security.

“Studies have shown that asset declaration regimes do not pose a significant risk to the independence and security of even judges, what more public officials or parliamentarians,” he said.

“On the contrary, anti-corruption benefits provide strong reasons to require public officials to file asset declarations in order to prevent corruption.”

Yesterday, a government motion to compel all MPs, their spouses and children to declare their assets by Oct 1 was passed without much resistance, despite initial criticism from Umno and PAS MPs.

Among others, they questioned the need for opposition MPs to also declare assets, and why the requirement was not added to existing anti-corruption laws.

Tuan Ibrahim did not specify the hadith he was referring to.

But when contacted, a source close to the PAS leadership referred to a hadith whose authenticity has been questioned by hadith experts.

“Seek help in having your needs met by being discreet, for everyone who is blessed with something is envied,” the hadith reads.

Farouk, however, said he was not interested in debating the hadith’s authenticity.

“I am not interested in the status of the hadith, because this is about worldly affairs,” he said.

He said there are contemporary problems which are left to experts to come up with solutions.

He said the same leeway is not given in matters of rituals and belief in God.

“The Prophet was sent to teach us about the fear of God. He was not sent to teach us medicine, architecture, engineering or even how to govern a country.”

He cited an example from Islamic history where the Prophet told a group of Muslims not to necessarily follow his opinion about cross pollination.

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“The Prophet opined that cross pollination would not be beneficial. Farmers in Medina followed his view but later informed him of a drop in their agricultural produce.

“The Prophet told them, ‘You know better of your worldly matters’,” said Farouk. “And this issue is within the realm of worldly matters.”