The Freedom Of Security

This was my reply to some queries about having a gated community (“G&G”) on Facebook. I thought I’d share it with you all.

Salams,
1. I will attempt to state only the basics and not go into detailed authorities as I have not much time to do the necessary research. I start by stating that hukum exist in two ways. (1) Halal, which can further be divided to mubah or wajib or makruh and (2) Haram. As we are well aware, there is no such prohibition from the Quran / Sunnah / Ijma’ / Ijtihad of a valid scholar (since we are in Malaysia, I would further restrict it to the Ahli Sunnah wal Jamaah as it is the most accepted view in Malaysia) for gating a community. On top of that, I rely on a general Islamic legal maxim, (which can also be located in the Majelle Islamic Legal Maxim if I am not mistaken) that “Everything is permissible until there is a prohibition”. So G&G is not haram. I think we can agree on this point.

2. If it is not haram, then is it just permissible or encouraged or discouraged?

3. In answering my question above, let me highlight that the objective of the Syariah is to protect five basic values i.e.:

1. Religion
2. Life
3. Lineage
4. Property
5. Intellect

The priority may not be accurate though but Religion is numero uno for sure. Whatever things that we intend to do must be to protect those five rights. G&G in a way protects at least 2 of the basic rights (property and life) [unless you wish to include lineage as G&G could stop a rapist from raping our women but this is just stretching it too far.] So G&G does not disturb the remaining 3 rights as it is irrelevant.

4. Considering that the crime rate in this neighbourhood has been on the rise since last year (1 in 3 houses has been hit), having G&G certainly helps to protect one’s property. Some may have the protection zikr and doa’s but that is certainly not enough. There certainly must be ikhtiar on our part when we seek for His protection right? We cannot leave our car unlock and pray to Him that nobody steals it. We need to lock it and park it appropriately. Just like G&G, we must first lock our houses, (have alarm system if possible), have G&G and then pray to Him to protect us as we have done our level best to protect our house. This is our ikhtiar. Kalau nak jadi jugak lepas tu, itu luar bidang kuasa kita.

5. The fact that we may no longer have beggars begging at our houses does not mean we cannot give charity elsewhere. Besides, not all of us who are staying at here are rich. Some admitted that they couldn’t afford the RM100 and their neighbour actually paid for that house’s G&G. So, G&G certainly does not portray a higher living standard. The houses remain the same. Plus, G&G is not the first of its kind. Many other areas have gated community as well. Even condominiums charge service charges for security. As much as it might hurt the feeling of beggars not being able to beg at our houses, the safety of our neighbourhood should be our main priority. That RM100 spent to further protect our house is a necessity and not a luxury. Again, considering that the rise of crime rate, investing in G&G could be deemed as a better way to spend. Any surplus in one’s cash flow can be channeled for charity.

6. Even the Prophet dug a longkang around Yathrib (Madinah) during the Battle of Khandaq. It was to protect the women (lineage), property, life and religion against transgressors. Some of the Jews also supported the idea of a longkang.

7. Thus, considering the current threat of robbery, I humbly feel that beefing up our security should be an encouraged move. I stand to be corrected.

Blog adjourned.