From: "veretest" The Underlying Spirit of the "Deen" We have now perfected for you our DEEN, completed our favors upon you and Allah is satisfied with Islam as a your DEEN. [Qur'an 5:3] The word DEEN is a significant term used in the Qur'an and could mean ... way of life, framework for governance, recompense, reward, requital, judgment, dominion, obedience, religion or natural order. The word has been used in the Holy Qur'an in all these senses [Qur'an 4:125, 5:3, 12:76, 24:2, 3:85, 37:53, 3:83]. The fact that Islam emphasizes mu'amalah (social relations) as an essential component of the Deen (Islamic Way of Life) clearly indicates the significance of social relations to human existence. The Prophet (pbuh) thus said الدين معاملة "The Deen is about inter-human/ soocial relationship" Rituals and Values When we look at the `religious' dimension of Deen, we find that it consists of beliefs, dogmas, traditions, practices and rituals. A believer born in a religious tradition inherits all this and believes every thing he/she has inherited is an essential and integral part of religion. For him/her rituals are as important and integral as the values. However, while rituals are performed regularly, values are often either violated, neglected or practiced merely symbolically. Rituals, however, are observed far more meticulously than adherence to the essential values which are in fact more fundamental to the Faith. Key Quranic Values Though many misconceptions about Islam prevail, both among Muslims and non-Muslims, these arise from dogmatism on the one hand, and from lack of information on the other. Getting familiar with the key values of the Deen as expounded in the Qur'an could clear much of the confusion. Among the key terms used in the Qur'an are ... rahmah/compassion, 'adl/justice, ihsaan/benevolence, 'aql/reason and hikmah/wisdom. These values are characteristics of the Divine and we have been commanded (takhallaqu bi akhlaqillah) to inculcate in ourselves these divine values; values which are all inextricably linked to each other. Rahmah Both the words Rahman and Rahim are derived from the root rhm, which signifies tenderness, care, consideration, affection- requiring the exercise of beneficence, goodness, love, compassion, benevolence and mercy. Allah says in the Qur'an, "My Rahmah encompasses everything." [Qur'an 7:155]. To indicate the intensity and comprehensiveness of the Mercy of Allah, two intensive forms of the word Rahmah are used side by side and in opening verse of the Qur'an (Surah al- Fatihah) it is repeated in the third verse as an independent ayah (Ar- Rahman- ir-Raheem). As a matter of fact, no other attribute of Allah as so often been stressed in the Holy Book (over 300 times) than the Divine attribute of Rahmah. At the very threshold of one's study of the Sacred Scripture, one is ushered into the awareness of the Creator and made conscious of His Holy Presence and reminded of His boundless grace and limitless Mercy. The Qur'an emphasizes the fact that the Revealer (Allah), the Messenger (Muhammad) and the Message (Qur'an) are embodiments of mercy. [Qur'an 1:1 & 6:12, 21:107, 17:82] and Believers are those who manifest mercy as the Prophet instructed that if you do not show mercy then no mercy will be shown to you; while Sayyedna `Ali challenged us ... "How do you expect the complete mercy of the Most Merciful , when the Most Merciful is most merciful to those who are merciful to others?" 'Adl Justice is paramount Islam; `Adl/Qist/Justice is ... A major mission of all Prophets (peace be upon them) was the "establishment of justice among people" [Qur'an 57:25] "Allah commands justice and goodness in everything" [Qur'an 16:90] Justice is an individual and collective responsibility. Allah inspired the Prophet with the saying ... "O my worshippers! I have made injustice unlawful for Myself, and have forbidden injustice among you; so do not be unjust." We are divinely commanded "to stand up for justice as witnesses to Allah" under all circumstances and without any discrimination to any one whatsoever. [Qur'an 4:135][Qur'an 5:8] Manifesting justice is equated to piety. "Be just, that is closest to piety" [Qur'an 5:8] Allah loves those who are just [Qur'an 60:8], and Allah sides not with the unjust [Qur'an 3:57]. Ihsaan Benevolence and justice are the most comprehensive commands of Islam after Faith. In the Qur'anic terminology, 'adl and ihsaan go together [Qur'an 16:90], for justice must be tempered with benevolence. Rigorous justice sometimes may have an adverse impact and hence requires the gentle influence of benevolence. Benevolence/ihsaan has its independent significance but is also complementary to compassion/rahmah. Ihsaan reinforces rahmah while also infusing human relationships with meaning. Since Allah is Muhsin/Benevolent, his servants must also be benevolent in their attitude and behavior and in all social relations. The fact that Islam emphasizes mu'amalah (social relations) as an essential component of the Deen (Islamic Way of Life) clearly indicates the significance of social relations to human existence. The Prophet (pbuh) thus said; الدين معاملة "The Deen is about inter-human relationship" Part of the fruits of faith is the commitment of the faithful to do good while avoiding the wrong and the harmful [Qur'an 3:110].The very presence of the Believer should be a source of benefit, a resource for goodness whose every action reflects ihsaan/goodness [Qur'an 16:90]; and Allah surely loves the muhsineen/those who manifest goodness [Qur'an 2:195]. 'Aql Divine revelation addresses the intellect [Qur'an 2:242], the seat of understanding [Qur'an 13:4]. The Qur'an also uses synonymous terms such as tafakkur/thinking [Qur'an 30:21] and tadabbur/reflection [Qur'an 47:24]. Reason is a gift from God, a faculty that plays a key role even in deciding right from wrong and good from bad. Qur'an addresses the intellect. [Qur'an 12:2] Reason is not sufficient by itself and can be used both for good as well as for evil. One can use reason to promote self-interest also, as is often done. Reason, it must be noted, is an instrument, not a goal and the exercise of it is essential for understanding and implememting the Deen. The Prophet warned, that person who does not exercise the intellect has no Deen. Hikmah Wisdom is reason synthesized with higher values of compassion, justice and benevolence. Hikmah [Qur'an 16:125] is concerned with reason as an instrument for the promotion of higher values that lead to spiritual growth, inner peace and happiness. Allah thus informs us of the high estimation of wisdom by saying, whosoever has been granted hikmah has been granted a tremendous thing. [Qur'an 2:269] A true Believer synthesizes all these values of rahmah/compassion, 'adl/justice, ihsan/benevolence, 'aql/reason, hikmah/wisdom; and imbibes them as part of his/her character and manifesting these in all levels of his/her existence. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Has someone you know been affected by illness or disease? Network for Good is THE place to support health awareness efforts! http://us.click.yahoo.com/UwRTUD/UOnJAA/i1hLAA/TXWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************************************************** {Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125) {And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33) The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise. If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest". Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/islamcity/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
