"A muslim engineer" something for the blogger mueen

This post is entended for the blogger mueen, its something from my broth's book

A GUIDE TO

ENGINEERING DESIGN

METHODOLOGIES

AND

TECHNICAL PRESENTATION

By: Bahhadin Karagozoglu (i cant type turkish letters)

King Abdelaziz University

Facaulty of Engineering

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

PRACTICES OF A MUSLIM ENGINEER

Several aspects related to practices of a Muslim engineer have been integrated into the text in previous chapters. Some light will be thrown onto the ethics in engineering practices from a Muslim stand.

The Purpose of Life
Muslim believes that the universe with all what it contains are created by Allah Almighty. The human being is the only creation responsible of his deeds in this world. The purpose of the human being on the earth is to act as the vicegerent (khalifah) of the Creator. The Creator provides guidance for the human being in his acts on earth through messengers and prophets who were given holy books. Islam is the only way of life on the earth that will be accepted by the Creator and it was brought by the last of the prophets Muhammed sallallahu alaihi wa sallam (peace and blessings be upon him). He taught his companions and showed them how practice it. Muslim believes in Allah (the Creator), His angels, His holy books, His Messengers, the day of resurrection.

No doubt, human mind is capable, within certain limits, distinguishing right from wrong, and every individual has been endowed with it in some degree. Similarly the knowledge of good and evil is, to some extent, intuitive because human conscience intrinsically feels uneasy in the presence of evil. Islam can provide us with the commonly agreed and objectively accepted standard, which has been eluding us.

The fact that God taught man shows that he has the Divine gift of learning and thinking. Man employs these qualities to enable him to carry out his duties and responsibilities in a manner that suits his status in the universe. He was given the power of choice between good and evil, through his will. He is God’s vicegerent or deputy on earth. His actions on earth will not go unaccounted. Rather, two responsible angels continuously register all good and bad deeds and the record book will be given to the person at the day of resurrection. Content of the book will be judged and even parts of the body will provide witness to the actions. Eventually, either he will be granted a way to paradise or he will be thrown into the hellfire.

Worshipping is compulsory in Islam, and it has been included in the basic pillars of faith. But the Islamic forms of worship are not the some sort of mystic exercises that link men with some unknown, mysterious being, and which subject men to perform useless acts and meaningless movements. All the Islamic compulsory forms of worships are designed as exercises and training to enable people to acquire correct morals and habits and to live righteously, and to adhere to these virtues till the end, whatever are the changes in their circumstances. The Muslim, within the limited sphere of his existence, is absolute master of his conduct. Hence there is individual responsibility. Worshipping improves the Muslim spiritually so that his actions, motives and conscience could reach a stage of development in which feeling of remorse overtakes him in the doing of unrighteous deeds and he becomes keen to perform good deeds.

Ethics and Morality
Ethics deals with what is right and wrong in matters of conduct. The judgment for right and wrong is made based on the decisions of lawmakers and ethical philosophers in non-religious societies. In a Muslim society governed by Islamic law (Sharia) however, it is believed that the Creator grants the truth, and people try to understand and implement it in judging the right and the wrong. Islam should have influence on ethics in nonmuslim societies as well simply because it has included the truth provided by ethical philosophers, in their attempts to justify moral principles.

Harmony between the home, the school and society at large requires that the moral values of the individual are to be the same as those of his society. Justice and stability usually depend upon the nature of the moral, social, political and economic institutions of the society.

1.Morality
Morality means a law, which controls and regulates the entire life of man; the entire behavior of the Muslims in all walks of life. Moral goodness is nothing other than absolute and willing submission to the law of Allah Almighty. Morality provides reasons and arguments to distinguish between good and bad actions and inherently includes the framework of ethical principles needed for actions of a Muslim engineer. The moral judgments of Islam are not suggestions, proposals or requests put forward to Muslims. They are commands, which the Muslims are supposed to execute.

Our beloved Prophet (peach be upon him) has stated the foremost purpose of his being sent down as:
"I have been sent only for the purpose of perfecting good morals”

Faith is such a power that it keeps men away from low attributes and mean acts, and encourages him to achieve high attributes and clean morals. Allah’s Messenger has nicely explained it that when faith is firm and belief is strong, then strong and lasting moral will be developed, and if the moral character is low then faith is accordingly weak.

2.Duties and Responsibilities of Engineers
Every individual living in the civilized world must shoulder several duties to fulfill his personal interest and to contribute to the well being of his family, his fellow citizens, and humanity at large. Engineers have more responsibilities in the society in which they live than the ordinary citizen as summarized in four principles of engineering ethics and seven fundamental engineering canons.
Four Fundamental Principles of Professional Engineering Ethics:
1. Engineers must use their knowledge and skill for the enhancement of human welfare
2. Engineers must be honest and impartial, and serving with fidelity the public, their employers and clients;
3. Engineers must strive to increase the competence and prestige of the engineering profession; and
4. Engineers must support the professional and technical societies of their disciplines.
The Seven Fundamental Canons
1. Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public in the performance of their professional duties.
2. Engineers shall perform services only in the areas of their competence.
3. Engineers shall issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner.
4. Engineers shall act in professional matters for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees, and shall avoid conflicts of interest.
5. Engineers shall build their professional reputation on the merit of their services and not compete unfairly with others.
6. Engineers shall act in such a manner as to uphold and enhance their honor, integrity and dignity of their profession.
7. Engineers shall continue their professional development throughout their careers and shall provide opportunities for the professional development of those engineers under their supervision.

The Muslim Altitude Concerning Continuous Improvement
Rules of the Sharia (Islamic law) are unchangeable but not rigid. Some rules do not change with changing circumstances because they deal with the regulation of human impulses and inclinations, which are the same everywhere and at all times. Stealing, dishonesty, envy, greed and telling lies are bad everywhere, for everybody, all the time, and do not change. But there are social, economic and political principles, which are formulated in such a way as to allow for exceptions and modifications in order to meet the complexity of the future. As far as the social, economic and political systems are concerned; Islam has provided us with general rules and principles, leaving the application in detail of most of these to the process of time and the emergence of individual problems.
Exceptions are allowed for but not by individuals who might be influenced by their own interests. They are based on what the Qur’an has clearly stated. “Necessity renders the forbidden permissible.”

In case of novel situations, they can be dealt within the most progressive manner, with the spirit of the main sources of Islam. Muslim must seek continuous progress. The first verse revealed to Prophet (peace be upon him) is “read”. Following hadiths from our beloved Prophet (peace he upon him) yields the striking importance given to continuous improvement in all aspects of life for a Muslim.
“Seek knowledge if it is in China"
"Seek knowledge from cradle to death."
“Wisdom is the lost property of a Muslim; he takes it wherever he finds it."
"He who has two successive days alike is a looser."

Responsibilities of Muslim in the Society
The Muslim engineer works for the welfare of the society at large. He uses all his resources for the benefit of the people at six levels as illustrated in the Fig. He will be like a light source that illuminates its neighborhood.

He will benefit himself first. He must do his best to reach and retain the highest possible level of physical and spiritual maturity. Hence, he must develop a strong character.
Al-Ghazali states that:
“Disposition or character is an established state of the soul from which actions flow easily and smoothly."
The second level of responsibility covers his family and first-degree relatives.
The third level is the close and distant neighbor.
The fourth level is the fellow citizen.
The fifth level is the fellow country.
The sixth level is the fellow Muslims.
And finally, the whole humanity is going to benefit. If there is any non-Muslim in the previous levels, he will be treated among the humanity in the last level.

In benefiting people, these levels must be observed. In harming people however, all levels are equal and a Muslim can’t harm anybody unless there is a legal reason for it.

A Muslim whose is the vicegerent of God on earth, must live in harmony with all creatures of God. He must look for continuous improvement while being extremely careful about his personal conducts. He must always remember that he is the follower of a Prophet (peace be upon him) who said, "He who deceives us is not from us". He has to state the even if it is against his personal desires because a Muslim can’t tell a lie because lying is stated as a big crime for him. He is recommended to respect the science (al-ilm) and he must always consult people since consultation between those who are entitled to have a voice is the order of his beloved Prophet (peace be upon him).

We can conclude that if we educate Muslim engineer with the spirit of Islam and train him in practicing his religion correctly, then we don’t have to worry about the ethics since their moral values covers them in full. The whole earth is the prayer hole (masjid) for a Muslim. Allah Almighty states in Al-Qur’an that nobody but Muslims can construct the prayer holes for His sake. We don’t need to have several levels of watchdog organizations to monitor him because he is absolutely sure that all his actions are very carefully recorded into his divine book. However, to understand Islam, one must have uncorrupt and unbiased mind. At the same time, continuous education and training are essential to improve him materially, mentally and spiritually so that he can coop with the continually changing state of affairs.

The Muslin Engineer — A Poem
Dr. Abdulhay Yousef of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department wrote the following poem in English and kindly agreed to append it to the chapter.

I am the Muslim Engineer
Qur’an is my Book
Sunnah is my Manual
I perform my duties
Whether daily or annual.

Allah has guided me
To be a Muslim Engineer
My message is clear
Just to ‘repair” the world,
And that is why I’m here.

I'm to Glorify My Lord,
With everyway and mode,
Through a machine or a keyboard,
Through data transmission with very high baud,
I know the right way to pave my road,
With such a view, wide and broad,
I'm the Muslim Engineer.

I'm to spread Islam on a plane or in a bus,
Through an interface or a data bus,
My message is clear with no fuss.

I’m to draw on every face a nice smile

I’m to reshape the world in a new profile.

Allah is My Lord

Muhammad is His Messenger

I’m working at full load,

I’m the Muslim Challenger.