Omens and their Impacts in Bangladesh: Remedy from an Islamic Management Perspective

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to formulate and develop a policy prescription for Omens in Bangladesh from Islamic management perspective. Although Omens has an overarching influence on Muslim society, but no academic work has undertaken to divulge the prevailing facts and figures of Omens in Bangladesh with validated references from the primary sources of Islam and not reinforced by well-equipped Islamic Management prescriptions which may deal with Omens’ issues effectively and efficiently. This descriptive study will attempt to provide a brief review of prevailing literature of Omens with their impacts and formulate a remedial mechanism of Omens from Islamic Management perspective based on The Holy Quran, Hadith and Islamic Literature.

Kew Words: Omen, Tawhīd[i], Astrology[ii], Ghaib[iii], Superstition[iv], Islamic Management[v]

References :

[i]         It means the realizing and maintaining of Allaah's unity in all of man's actions which directly or indirectly relate to Him. It is the belief that Allaah is One, without partner in His dominion and His actions (Ruboobeeyah), One without similitude in His essence and attributes (Asmaa wa Sifaat), and One without rival in His divinity and in worship (Ulooheeyahl `Ebaadah). These three aspects form the basis for the categories into which the science of Tawheed has been traditionally divided. The three overlap and are inseparable to such a degree that whoever omits any one aspect has failed to complete the requirements of Tawheed. See for details: Bilal Philips, Dr. Abu Ameenah, The Fundamentals of Tawheed, (Islamic Monotheism), Dar-Us-Salam publishers & Distributors, Brooklyn, NY 11217,  1999, p. 1-26

[ii] It represents the belief that earthly beings are influenced by heavenly bodies and future events may be forecasted by the observation of the movement of these bodies. See for details: Tayseer al-Azeez al-Hameed, p. 441

[iii] Al-ghayb (commonly, and erroneously, translated as "the Unseen") is used in the Qur’an to denote all those sectors or phases of reality which lie beyond the range of human perception and cannot, therefore, be proved or disproved by scientific observation or even adequately comprised within the accepted categories of speculative thought: as, for instance, the existence of God and of a definite purpose underlying the universe, life after death, the real nature of time, the existence of spiritual forces and their inter-action, and so forth. Only a person who is convinced that the ultimate reality comprises far more than our observable environment can attain to belief in God and, thus, to a belief that life has meaning and purpose. By pointing out that it is "a guidance for those who believe in the existence of that which is beyond human perception", the Qur'an says, in effect, that it will - of necessity - remain a closed book to all whose minds cannot accept this fundamental premise. See Asad, Muhammad, The Message of the Qur’an,

[iv] Oxford Dictionary defines as “the belief that particular events happen in a way that can not be explained by reason of science, the belief that particular event brings good or bad luck”. Bhusan [Bhusan, B., 1989. Dictionary of Sociology (1^st Ed.) New Delhi; Anmol Publication] defined superstition as “a belief about natural phenomena that depends upon a magical or occult interpretation of events and that is widely held to be true in spite of objectively demonstrable facts to the contrary”.

[v] Shaya'a Othman defines it as, “Integrated activities of thinking, planning, organizing, leading and controlling, interconnected with decisions, involving the use of resources - human, financial, time, information, and physical, with the objectives of attaining the goals of Maqāsid al-Sharī’ah, by means of effective and efficient methods.” See: http://islamicstrategymanagement.blogspot.com/p/definition-of-islamic-management.html