Response to the Modernist Contention: “But Islam Must Adapt to the Times!!!”

By Bassam Zawadi

If that’s the case, then Islam could and should have simply adapted to the times of the 7th century. It should have embraced tribalism, oppression of slaves, etc. and whatever other “dominant” and “popular” Jahiliyyah norms there were. Islam didn’t “adapt” to its times, rather it stood independently and sought to change the worse to the better. The “better” being the God-given standards and principles infused within it.

Islam as a whole doesn’t have to “adapt” to anything. It shall continue standing in the face of anything which God opposes. The 21st century as a whole is not morally any superior than the 7th, nor are Western values as a whole any better than what we find in 7th century Jahiliyyah. Even if so, it would still fall short of meeting the standards of Islam.

Islam asks that the world adapts to it, not the other way around. Get with the program already!