Balance in Islam

I have been inspired to write after reading another sister's post (yeah still don't know how to link stuff on here sorry) and it's comments. As I begin this I already know that there will be many people who disagree and who will probably question my faith. I figure since I'm prepared for the aftermath I might as well spit it out.

One of the reasons that I was so attracted to Islam was the sense of logic that accompanied it. The main tenets of Islam are logical and have reason, something that I never truly found in Christianity. I learned much of what I know about Islam through Muslims who followed the leadership of W.D. Mohammed - May Allah (swt) forgive his sins and grant him paradise. One of the things that I love about his teachings is that he talks greatly about balance and moderation in the religion. Not to say that he believed we should be moderate in our beliefs but that we can live Islamically in today's society without isolating ourselves from the world around us. How do we do this? By using our common sense and thinking logically.

In the past few days I have read so many posts and heard so many people state things that suggest that they are not thinking logically. One of the most recent was around the topic of music. Many people have taken the position that ALL music is haram. They have proof from hadith saying that music is a SIN. On the flip side there is proof from hadith that the Prophet (saw) said that music was ok (I totally wish I knew how to link stuff on here so you can see the post and the hadiths that I'm referring to). People who are on the haram side of the argument seem to completely disregard the proof that suggests otherwise. IMHO, the fact that there is PROOF of both sides of the argument means that it's not a completely black and white issue. We need to use use logic to make our decisions in this matter. Look at the context when these issues initially came into view. Music, alcohol, gambling, sex were very much linked together at the time. It's not really the case anymore. There is plenty of music that seperates itself from sin. I was in the band, in the drama club, in the choir, in dance class during my middle school and high school years. Those things took up a lot of my time. The same time that my peers were partying, getting drunk, and getting pregnant. Many times those activities were a release for some of the daily stresses I felt. We all need an outlet. Just because you listen to a song, it doesn't mean that you're now going to go out and get drunk. If a song causes you to do that then you were not strong in your religious values in the first place.

Shaking hands, and other interactions, with the opposite sex also appears to be an issue. I'm a woman. I go to grocery stores, to banks, to department stores, to gas stations, to restaurants, to WORK! None of these places are gender segregated. I'm bound to have interactions with men at some ppoint during the day In the US, it's common curtesy to shake someone's hand when you're being introduced to them. In my job, I go to a ton of meetings to form relationships with other community agencies where there are male and female employees. Imagine if I never shook someone's hand when they extended theirs? What kind of relationship could I possibly form when the first impression I make could be judged as rude even if my intention was not meant to be? We (should) know when the inappropriate line has been crossed (i.e. hugs, kisses, groping) and I don't think shaking hands in today's society crosses it.

I heard a story about a young man who would only eat with his hands because the Prophet and his companions ate with their hands. Some people debate whether men should wear ties and whether women should only wear abaya and jilbab. Some people debate whether it's ok to wash over a kufi or hijab or socks during wudu. There's dissention on whether one can be Muslim and be patriotic. Many of the answers can be found when we use common sense. What things are praticing that is truly the spirit of Islam? What things are we practicing that just cultural? What things are we practicing that were simply a sign of the time of the Prophet?

Allah (swt) certainly doesn't want us to live in isolation. We are told to follow the law of the land. We are told that religion shouldn't be hard. Knowing these things we still try to set ourselves so far apart that other people don't understand us. We may even drive people away from the beauty of Islam.

In no way am I saying that we should disregard Qur'an or hadith. Certainly not. But we should research and ask questions. We should consult scholars but use their words as a guide not the final say so. As one sister said in a comment - scholars are just as fallible as we are and we can do the same research as they do. Allah (swt) has given is the gift of and the oppurtunity to use logical. By using our common sense we can attain a healthy balance between living religiously and living in society.