Marks and Spencer's decision to allow Muslim workers to politely request customers wishing to purchase pork or alcohol to use another till created an epic backlash against the high end retailer last December. So fierce was the debate and anger of customers that Marks & Spencer apologised and said they would find more suitable roles for people, who due to religious or cultural reasons cannot sell certain products.
It's highly ironic though that being a Christian country which preaches tolerance and respect, customers fail to tolerate and respect the beliefs and religious obligations of members of other faiths. It's even more strange and ironic that while the Bible itself teaches against consumption of Pork, people in a Christian country are angered and frustrated by a Muslim who wishes to follow her religion. How difficult would it be to go to another till? Stores have many open tills and for a few years now most if not all supermarkets give the option of self-service tills. Would it really be that inconvenient to use another till is my first question. So kudos to that Muslim woman who gives her faith preference over worldly matters in an age where religion and Godly virtues are frowned upon, taken as mockery, fables and superstition. Wearing a headscarf, she politely refused to sell a bottle of champagne and asked the customer to wait for another colleague. At least Muslims today do stick by their beliefs and follow their principles unlike other religions of the world today. However, Is That Entirely True? While that Muslim woman's bravery and honesty in refusing to sell the bottle of champagne was commendable, was it really necessary? And are most Muslims following their religion meticulously? As a practising and very serious Muslim myself, I have worked in supermarkets and places which sell alcohol. At the end of the day this is a nation in which alcohol and Pork have become intertwined in society so much so that it's almost impossible to escape it. And Muslim or not, we still have to work and make a living. Interest is very strictly forbidden in Islam yet no Muslim refuses to take a job in a bank, no Muslim shuts their bank account or stops using money. Interest is so deeply rooted now that basically all money is tainted with the stain of Interest. If we Muslims were to stop using money our life would be made unlivable, and this is what it comes down to. The Qur'an States An Important Principle After forbidding the flesh of Swine the Qur'anic verse 2:174 goes on to say: 'But he who is driven by necessity, being neither disobedient nor exceeding the limit, it shall be no sin for him. Surely, Allah is Most Forgiving, Merciful.' Now, this is merely to do with eating the flesh of Swine and when God has allowed the eating of Swine in the most extreme situation when nothing else is available, then who can protest at a Muslim passing alcohol or Pork through a checkout. He isn't eating it nor directly even handling it. A Muslim has to work and make a living. He is not being paid to specifically handle or sell Pork or alcohol. Working in a butchers handling Pork or a wine shop exclusively selling alcohol would be another matter, but working in a supermarket or retailer selling thousands of other products, you're only being paid for your time - not to sell Pork or alcohol necessarily. The Dilemma For Muslims The other thing however is that in a tradition of the Prophet of Islam, he is reported to have cursed the seller, drinker, buyer, distiller and any beneficiary of alcohol. In other words anyone who has a hand in alcohol in any way, the Prophet has cursed. The harm of alcohol in our society is clear so there's no need here to go into the issue of why the Prophet has said this. But this causes a massive dilemma for Muslims. If we sell alcohol in a supermarket then maybe we (God forbid) will be of those cursed. It again goes back to the Qur'anic principle of necessity, righteousness and intention however. The Prophet forbade the wearing of silk for men, yet he allowed it in circumstances where a person had an ailment which could be relieved somewhat by wearing silk. Likewise slavery is forbidden in Islam yet Muslims still had slaves and slavery wasn't abolished with one stroke. Why? Because it was so instilled and intertwined in the fabric of that society that it would have caused the dysfunctioning of the whole system and where would the downtrodden slaves, who were looked down upon go? So Islam had to root our this evil step by step and raise the status of the slaves. The Prophet made slaves as equals and even brothers, eventually rooted out this vice. In the same way then, when alcohol and Pork is so rooted in our society that it is all around us and we find no other place to work so that we may earn a livelihood and feed our family, a Muslim sometimes has to out of necessity work in such places where he or she may find himself putting Pork or alcohol through a checkout. A Muslim shouldn't became complacent though, the verse says that you should neither be disobedient nor exceed the limit. The repulsion of forbidden things should still be deep in your heart. The highest merit is in following the religion as meticulously as possible and keeping away from all things forbidden absolutely. So, as the verse hints, a Muslim should seek help and forgiveness from God and seek better conditions where possible. Muslims Need to introspect Themselves Furthermore, Muslims can be a strange lot these days. On the one hand they are very strict in the superficial and outward observance of their religion yet some don't even perform the basic fundamentals of the religion. There is no use in a Muslim refusing to sell Pork or alcohol if when he goes home he doesn't perform his obligatory prayers, take care of his wife, family or neighbours or give charity etc. The Promised Messiah says that the root of every virtue is righteousness, whatever action is done with the view of righteousness or fear of God, that action is not wasted. The Holy Prophet also said that intention is the root determiner of any action. Sometimes you end up inadvertently doing the wrong things for the right reasons in which case you're not to blame if you're intention and heart was in the right place and either didn't know better or had absolutely no other choice or way out. So a Muslim who refuses to sell Pork yet abuses people, steals, disregards his prayers etc, God has no need for his refusing to sell Pork. He should first make his fundamentals straight - become a noble, charitable, kind, gentle and God-fearing person and follow the basic main religious values. Likewise, there are some who pray, give lip service to God, act religious yet they go and eat Pork and drink alcohol. A true Muslim is one who first serves God and remains loyal to Him, serving Him and His creation, while refraining from all things forbidden and follows his religion to the utmost. This brings peace to his mind and to others around him. If one was to do this properly then God would surely guide him and improve his condition: 'Whoso fears God, God will appoint for him, of His command, easiness' (65:5) This is the Islamic teaching. Muslims these days make it difficult for themselves by putting unnecessary restrictions and make the religion seem strict and difficult to follow whereas the Prophet has expressly forbidden this as has the Qur'an: 'God desires ease for you, and desires not hardship' (2:186) Let's All Be More Tolerant At the same time though customers should be a little more understanding and tolerant. To threaten to boycott a well known and respected store simply for allowing their staff to follow their religion is the height of intolerance and overreaction. Religion and day to day life including business, education and relationships are not separate things. Religion is what teaches us how to behave in all these spheres of our life. I'm all for 'the customer comes first' and 'the customer is always right' however reacting in this way is no way for a customer to behave. All supermarkets do their utmost to serve their customers in the greatest way and the best way for them is to take care of their own staff first! If the staff are satisfied then they'll be nicer to customers, happy in their job and give greater performance. If staff are unhappy however. that will rub of on the customers. So fair play to Marks & Spencer (and other supermarkets) for not only apologising to its customers but also for pledging to place staff in more appropriate roles, while respecting each individual staff member's beliefs.
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AuthorAtif Rashid writes about faith, extremism & mental health. Categories
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August 2021
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