Exploratory Analysis of the Comprehensive application of the Islamic Concept of Zuhd in the Contemporary world

Abstract

The main aim of the present study is to present a clear frame work of how to practically apply the concept zuhd to individual Muslim life. It is an empirical research on the Islamic concept of zuhd. The method that is employed in the study is qualitative approach, whereby interviews were staged, recorded and transcribed. Thereafter themes were extracted. The samples for the present study were five Muslim scholars from different universities in Malaysia as well as a university in Nigeria. The researchers found that the two basic goals of the Islamic concept of Zuhd is the realization of khalifatullah (the vice-gerent of Allah) on the earth and earning the pleasure of Allah in the hereafter, not necessarily, abandoning the beneficial and pleasurable things of this world. It urges Muslim to positively contribute to the development of the society.

Keywords: Zuhd, Asceticism, Khalifah, Ascetic person, Self discipline