UL ISLAM: THE CONCEPT OF RELIGION AND THE FOUNDATION OF ETHICS AND MORALITY colierent meaning as reflected in The word din Gerived from une Arabic root DYN has rmsany primary significaions whieh although se contrary 10 one another are ed unity of san that which is described as the Religion of hich contains within itelf all the relevant poss i chapter my inenpreiation o nh eveater oge md the nes, S08 So 1 105, col 2471, co 2biliies of meaning inherent in the concept of dim Since we are dealing with an Islamic concept which i translated into reality intimately and profoundly vel inhuman texpetience, the apparent contrariess in its basic meanings is indeed not due to vaguencs: itis, rather, due to the Contrariness inherent in utnan mature itself, which they faithfully reflect. And their power co veflect human nature ‘hidhfully is iself clear demonsration of their lucidity and seracity and authenticity in conveying wuth, The’ primary sighifications of the rm din can be seduced to four: (1) indebtedness (2) submisiveness, (3) judi fous power, (A) natural inclination or tendency. In ghat presently follows, T shall atenpt to explain them briefly find phice them in their relevant contests, drawing forth the coherent ultimate meaning intended, which denotes the ith, beliefs and practices and teachings adhered to by the Muslims individually and collectively ay a Communisy and manifesting itself altogetbier as an objective whole as the Religion called flim ‘The verb dana which derives from din conveys the mean ing of big indeded, including various other meanings com rected with debi, some of thetn contraries, nthe state in which one finds oneself Being in debt — that is 10 say, 4 «dain — it follows that one subjects oneself, in the sense of “yielding and obeying to law and ordinances governing debts, and also, in a way, to the creditor, who is Hhewise desig. hated as'a dain” There is also conveyed in the situation described the fact that one in debt is under abligation, or ‘dayn, Being in debt and under obligation naturally involves Judgement: dayniuah, and conoiion anah, as the case may bbe. All the abose significations including their contraries inherent in’ dana are practicable possibilities only in 411 Dati ecees both to daiaras wll a dr, and his apparent ‘ontarines in. meaning can indeed be rested if we transpose both dese meaning o refer to te ono matures of ‘man, thats the rational soul and dhe animal or carnal so See below pp 6750 ‘organized societies involved in commercial life in taons ad fiiey denoted by mudun of madain A town or cin 3 tmadinah, has a judge, ruler, oF governor — a dayyan. Thus already heve, in the various applications of the verb dana lone, we sce rising before our mind's eye a picture of Chilized living: of societal lite of lav and order and justice land authority Te is, conceptually at least, connected intimately with another verb madaana® which means: 10 4 Teis nk extremely important wouisceen both the inimate fd profoundly significant connecion between the concept tf din and that of madinah which drives om i and the re ff dhe Believers inelsidually in Felaton eo dhe Foriner and Collectively elation to the ater Considerable relevance must be ace nthe sguiticance of the change of name of the town once know a Vathr wo al Madina the Giy — or move preciely, MadinatuT Nabi the ity of the Propht — which occured soon after the Holy Prophet (nay God bless and give him Peace!) made Ws historic. Fight (jad) and seuled there, The fis ‘Community of Believers was formed thereat the dane and its ‘war that Flight that marked the New Bra in the history of Tankind. We ims we the fc tha al Madina was socalled tnd named Beeaune i was there that rue din became realised for maakind, There the Believers easlaved themselves unser the authority and jurdicton ofthe Holy Prophet (nay God bleed pve him Peace!) ts dayne there the realization of the debt to God took definite ‘orm, al the approved manner ad method of repayment began to unfold. The Gi of the Prophet signed the Place where wue din was fneted under his suhorty al jasaicon, We may further See thatthe Cy Became, for te Communi the epitome of he sociopulial onder of Islay and for the sadidual Believer i became, by analogy, the simbol ofthe Beier’ body and phyieal being kt whieh the rational soul i femulation of im who may God bless and give Peace! ‘xercses authority and jot govern nent, For farher eleva interpretations see bel, pp 8465 0870; 7170; S28. 48, LA yO 1340201, 2403.01build oF to found cities t cele to rine ad to human, From which is derived another term: tamaddun, meaning ‘zation andl rtement in vol clare Thus we derive {row the primary signification of being ina sate of debt cother correlated sigifcations, sich a ¢0 aha onto lerw (8 master), (0 brome onlaved snd from another such Signication of judge rule and governors derived meanings Which denote the beaming might, powerful and song Ina one send n rank, al glnous and yet further, the ‘meanings judgement, ruil oF ekoming (al some appoint fc time), New the very notion of law and order and justice and authority and socal cultural refinement inherent in all thee signfcauions derived from he concept din snust surely presuppose the existence of made oF manner of ‘ing Consistent with wha ie rellcted inthe law, the order, the justice, the authority and social cultural refinement — tmode or manner of acting. or sal of bing considered a8 hnaralin elation to thet xo that this ate of ing i a state ‘hat is euslomary oF Aaktuat From here, dhety me ca ace the logle behind the derivation of the other primary signification of the concept dn ax custom, hab, dipeition of natural tendency. At this Junctre it becomes increasingly ‘dear that the concept di in is mon base Tora indeed feflects in tue testinony the natural tendency of man to {orm societies and obey Laws aid seek jot government. The dea ofa king 4 cosmals, inherent in the concept din that rises before oar vision is most imporant in helping us attain a more profound understanding oft, and needs be feiterated here, for we shall have tecourse tag when Swe deal with the teligious and spiritual aspects of man's ‘existential experience T have thus far explained only ia cursory manner the basic concept of din, reducing the various connowtions to four primary signiicaions and showing heir muta acta and primary concepusal connections, in the context of hanna “secur” relations. Inthe religious context, that of the relauonship between man and God, and what God approves of man’s relations with his fellowien, the primary signifcaions, while maintaining their baie Ieanings, nevertheless undergo. profound synthesis and intensification at once true to the expericice described and tothe description ofthe Religion of skin a the objec tive faith, belles and practices and teachings experienced and lived by each and every member of the Muslim Com ‘munity as well asby the Community asa whole. How can the concept of bang indeed be explained in the religious and spitual contexd?— one may ask; what edhe nature of the deb@, and wo whom is the debt owed? We Answer that man i indebted to God, his Creator and Provider, for bring him into existence and maintaining him in his existence, Man ys once nothing and did not exit, and now he eo ip yee Man We did create from a quintessence of cay Then We pleced him a+ a drop of sperm in a place of reat, Rm) Fed Then We mide the sperm into a clot of congealed bond: then of that clot We made a lump: then We made out of that hip bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then We developed out of it another ‘creature. So aleswed be God the Best to crete!" The man who punders sertuly his origin wll realize that a few decades age he did not exist, and the whole of mankind now exiting neither existed nor knew of thei posible present existence, The same auth applcs 1 all Ages of man from the beginnings of hi existence i tieSo naturally he who ponders thus sincerely knows ats ively that his Sense of bing indebted for his creation and existence cannot really be directed to his parent, fot he sows equally well that his parents too are subject to the sane process by the same Creator and Peover. Man docs ‘ot himself cause his own yrowth and development trom the state of a clot of congealed blood to the one that now sands mature and perfect. He kuows that even i his ‘ature und perfect state he i not able to create for himself his sense of Sight ot hearing or other — and let alone move himseit in conscious growth and development it his helpless embeyonie stage. Then again fl gee dy So, as he ‘When thy Lord drew forth from dhe Chiren of Sam = from their loins — their descendents, and made ‘hem testify concerning themselves (saying) "Am T ot Your Lord?"— they sai"Yea we do testi The righily guided mat realizes that his very self, his Soul, has already acknowledged God as his Lord. even betove his existence as a. man, x0 that such aman ecognizes his Creator and Cherisher and: Sasainer. The nature ofthe debt of eteation and existence isso wemen ‘ously ox that man, the moment he is ereted and gives existences already in a state of utter los, for he possess really nothing himself, secing that everything about hist and in him and ftom him is what the Creator owns Who ‘ns everything. And this isthe purport of the words in the Holy Qur'an 15 abana aes “Verily man isi ons (sn * Seeing that he ewns absolutly nothing to “wepay” his deb, xr is cu concaness ofthe fact thal he Nisa the very Substance of the debt 30 must he “repay” with himsel, x must he “return imsct to in Who owns him absolutely He is himself the debt to be returned to the Owner and ‘rewuring the cela’ means to giv himiel/ wp in sri, or ‘hudma, to bis Lord and Master, o abe hans before Hit and so the rightly guided ma sincerely and consciously ‘slave Kim for the sake of God in order to full His Commands and Prohibitions and Ordinances, and this to live out the dicates of His Law. The concept of “return allied to abe fs ao evident in the conceptual stucture of nor can and dos indeed meat Il cabot concept "nature’ referring tothe” piriwal and’ not altogether the physical aspect of man’s being.” It must also be pointed out tat in the words of the Holy Qu 46 abana; FT Ce etn a np i be cing {he em vada nthe eae of earn othe pas that Proplict Tabi (apon whom be Peae In this cone pleme sce above at and below, pp LSS. mint he Foie ot aon re une hb Cito and had tsar nthe human sed. rar at God has revesed and cowmaned and taigh Hs ropes and Menengers so tha atnougt shy sppeated sete Untaned pe hy ththe word interpreted as rain’ is raf, which meats teal ‘etur” Iti interpreted as rain because God returns it time and again, and it reiers to good return in the sense of feet, pra and in. Hay is therelore used synonymnousiy this sense with sedeh, meaning gain which 's the opposite oF contrary of thus. loss, to which reference has already been made above, Now ii appropriate to mention here that one of the basic meanings of din which has not heen explained above i recurrent rin, rain that teturns ‘gain and again and hence we perceive that din here, lke ‘uch a ran, alludes to Bene and gaia. When we say that in order to repay" is debt man must ‘ecurn himsel 0 God, his Owner, bis “returning hime Islke. the returning Yin" gain nto bit, And this the meaning of the sang “He sho enstves himself gains (rabiha whose infinitive out i aba The expresion ‘enslaves himsell (dana nafihu) means ‘gives himself up! tin service), and hence alo. "etarns Iimsel (Uo his Owner) 3s explained." The sae meaning {9 ‘There b a dave conection betwen the concept here des ed ad the appetite verb re varios ots {nthe Holy Quran wt -lerence to an'yetu a Gad BW Lavo 2482 col 2485, cl BI Tae dongs et a bay ahernie dea just athe rain sh Gd seas do he ars a he Heh he Wines therewith 10 am earth that fy dead See a 58 Wedel refes tothe ma who, hing conscious realized that ei hinbel the sbject of how deb co Hs Creat and Statuiner and Chesser, esses nel wo hie sf and ence Yetrn’ hil w his ue Lord 8 is exprested in the words of the Holy Prophet, may God bless and give him Peace! eal dos he ineligent one is he who enslaveshitmelf (dana rufsaha) and. works for thst which shall be after each That which shall be after death’ is that whieh shall be reckoned good, she requital, the good return, This good ‘Tetur i ke the returning ean which brings beneit wo the ‘arth by bringing lie 40s ad by causing goodly grow beneficial to fe to grow from i In ike manner that rain ages life 10 the earth which would otherwise be dead, 50 ‘does din give ie to man, without which man would be as ‘one who i a were, aso “dead”. This s apuysjmbolzed by God's Words in the Holy Quran, where He says I the rain which God sends down trom he skies sd the life which He gives therewith to. earth Wht dead =" By seturning himself to his Lond and Master, by loyally and truly following and obeying God's Commands and Prohibitions snd Ordinances and Law, the man thus acing wil be requited and will receive his good return wuld tang times overs Goel says in the Holy Quy a BE LA vol 18180 cok 55. AbBagoa 2104‘Who is he who wil loan (yugrida) to God a beautiful loan (gerdan hasanan) shih God will double to bis cred and uliply may times? Notice here that the verb used to sigh‘ opr, from qurada, gerd has not the same connotation a that whic is termed as “debt (dayn), forthe latter term is ‘pplicable to man only. The “oan” here meant is "the ecu of chat which i osened “originally bythe One Who ‘om ass fori and which is to be retried to in” Man is God's property and his existence tly “lent” his for a time. Ow the other hand the expression "goodly loa (Gardan hasan) 48 applied to man has tactaphorical significance, in that its his “ervice to God his "good works that is meant, for thee ca indeed be sd to delong (o him. and forthe offering of which he will be equited in abundance. God is the Requite, the Supreie Judge’ al dayyan. He isthe ing. mali of the Day of Judgement and Requital. you afin aso called the Day af Reckoning am a sab” The fet that God is eferved wo a8 King, at ‘rerything elie a6 the Kingdom over which He exercises Absolute Power and) Authority, malakit, sows again that than is His manta His sve. So din i the religious context, ao refers to the sate of being sive We referred a while ‘goto man’s ‘returning himsel ax meaning ‘ging himself Uup in service” (Hida) to God. We now say that in elfet wat is truly meant is mot “service” nthe sense of ay ferice, of the kind offered to another: manor human institution. The concept of AAidaah inplies thatthe one 87 Din also means correct reckoning: Asib alyabih. Wi the This somenhat thera! enn convey the sense of there being» aster o law governing and Panag al in perfect equa See Lt vo TE Giro 58 Le voh 1Sdyeol t 6 who gies such service fee’ fs mot a onda, bat is “his ‘own master’ in expect of himself, The concept mati, Thomever, conveys the implicit fact of omnership by the one tcho taker hisservice. The mamluks posed bythe mali $a we do not sy of one who serves God that bef Badin meaning servant, but that he is God's “ad and he is in truth Gods ahh meaning also servant ot slave, whic te has the connotation of “being owned’ by Hitn Whoa he serves, Inthe seligious context, therefore, “ub is the corvect term of -eerence to one who, in the reali that he fs indebted absolutely to God, absses himself in service o Him, and hence the act of service appropriate & him is called idadah and the service fs badat, wich veers to-all conscious snd willing acts of service fur the sake of God alone and approved by His, including such as are prescribed worshp. lly worshipping God in such manner of Service the man t filing the purpose for his reathon and existence, a God sys in the Holy Que 1 have only created the Jinn ane! Man that they my serve Me" (3 bud)” ‘When we sty that sch a man is fulfilling the purpose fr Wis creation and existence, it i otius that hat tnai's obligation to sere God i fel by hin as moral because ‘comes 3 8 mutual inlnaion om the mans par +9 do 3. This natural tendency in the man to serve and worship God js alwo referred to a8 din, as we have observed in the beginning in conection with ts connotation as stom, heb, ad djsiton. However, here inthe regs context is has a more specific siguiiation of the natura sue of being called ira tn fact don locs aso mean fia Fabs the pattern accoudng vo which Grad has cxcated all hing 38 ALDIanyau 1.90Wis God's manner of ereting, sunnat Allah, and everything Fics each into ts pattern created for it and stints proper place. Ie is the Law cf God, Submission to it brings harmony, for it means ‘alization of what i one's true natures oppesiion to it bags discord, for it means realization of what is extrancous to one's true ‘hare. Tis comos as opposed to chaos justice a opposed to injustice, When God saii"Am I not your Lard? and man's tee self, testing for” ite” anwweredVeal™ i ackiowledgeinent of the uth of God's Lordship it has tealed Covenant with God. Thus when man is manifested Se man inthis wordly Ife he wil, if ighuly guided, femeniber his Covenant and act accordingly as outlined fbove, 20 that his worsip, his acts of piety, his Wie and ‘death is lived out forthe sake of God alone. One of the meanings of fra as dor refers to the realzation Of this Covenant by man." Submission in the sense described above means conscious wing submision, and this ‘ubmission does not enti loss of “freedom for him, since freedoms in fact nica teat at hs true nature demande The man who submits to God inthis way ving out the din ‘Submission, we say agai, eles to conscious and willing submission, for were it neither conscious nor willing it canot_then mean rralsubmision. ‘The concept of subnsion is perhaps consnon wo all relghons, just as belle ‘OF fth is the core of allcigions, but we maintain that not Sil religions enact real submission. (Neither isthe ubotision meant the Kind that is momentary or erate for real submission isa continuous act lived throughout the ‘entire span of one’s ethical lifes nor i i the kind that ‘operates nly within the realm of the heart without Ianifesting itself outwardly in the action of the body as ‘works performed i obedience to God's Lave Submision God's Will means alo obedience to His Law. The word ‘denoting this sense of submision is axlama, is evident i the Holy Qur'an where God sis: Who can be beter i religisn (din) than one whe omits (aslana) his face (bis whole acl) wo God." Ain refereed to is none other (ua Islan. There are doubt, other forms of din, but the one in which is enacted total submission (itn) to God alone isthe best, and this fone isthe only din acceptable to God, as He says in the Holy Qur'an anyone desires a religion (a) other chan Iam (a Islan) never will ite accepted of his.” and agai: Verily the Religion (afdin) sm he sight of (abhtan Acconing 1o the Holy Qur'an, man cannot escape beng i the sate of living a ain since all ubmait (lama) to God's wil, Hence the term din i also sed to denote feligions ther than Islan, However, what makes Islam different from dhe other religions i thatthe submission according 10 [slam i sinere an fatal submission to Gods Wil, and ths enacted sling av abwolte obedience to the Lae revealed. ty Him, This ies is implicly expressed inthe Holy Quran, for example, in the following passage PE cate a eel ALN (28 Autoren (88 6 AL taron(3)19shh pall ely oo Do they seek or other than the religion (din) of God? while all creatures in the heavens and om earth have, ing oF unwilling, submitted (aslana) co His Willan ( Hlim shall shey al be returned ‘The form in which submission is enacted or expressed is the form of the din, and itis here that diversity occurs between one din and another" This forts, which is the manner of insdiution of belie and faith, the manner of ‘expression of the law, the manner of religious attitude and cethical and moral conduct — the manner in which submission to God is enacted in ous lie, is expressed by the concept millah. Islam follows the millah of the Prophet (Abraham), which is alo dhe milah of the other im (Peace be upon them all). Their millah altogether is considered to be the form of the right religion din abgayyim, because of all other milal, their milah alone inclined perfectly, herijan, towards the true Religion (al Islam). They thus anticipate Islim in religious faith and belief and law and practice and hence are called also Muslims, even though the Religion of Tslim_as such reached its perfect’ crystallization only in the. form externalized by the Holy Prophet (may Gad bless and give him Peace!). Other religions have evolved. their own systems or forms of submision based upon their own ‘cultural traditions which do not necessarily derive from the {66 This of course does aot imply that the diversity besween religions i only mater of form, forthe sflerence in the form indeed implies a dlerence inthe conception of Ga, His Essence and Anibutes and Names ant Acts — siferencein dhe conception expressed in Ii til aly of Cu. rillah of the Prophet Ibeatiin (upon whos be Pesce!) and yet some others, sich as the din of the Ahlu'LKilab — People of the Book — have evolved a mixture of their own cultural traditions wth traditions based upon Revelation, It is to these various systems of forms of submission that, 0 return to the pasaige just quoted, the “unwilling” type of subinission refers” er ‘sem, the words of Goin the Holy Qur'an all gos = Let these be no compulsion in teligion (aPajarah (2:256) = corroborates what has been explained above in that in true religion there should be no compulsion: not ony inthe Sense that. inthe act of subjigating to religion ad snteniting to ome mist not compel others to aubae but inthe seme tha: even with oncelf, one mus subjugate and submit oneself mholeheartedly and willingly, aid Tove and fnjoy the submission, Uniling submission betrays Lrogance, diobedience and rebellion, and lstantamount (0 Imiselch whichis one ofthe forms of unbelief. eis 4 thistake to dink belle in One Ged aoa i aulicent is tue Feligion, and that such belief guarantees security and ‘Gation. Ths (Suan). who believes iu the One True God and koma and acknonedges Him as is Creator, Cherie tnd Stainer, his rai, neverthclese « mibelcver (lif ‘Alhongt Ibis submis vo Gav othe submits grading a insolent, and fis huis due to arrogance, diobedience al rebicllion, His the most notorious example of uniling Submission, Unwilling submission, then, is hot the mark of woe Beil, and hajr might therefore be also oie Who, ‘hough profesitg bei in One God, does no subarea Ibiadon, bul prefers Inte to. subant in hit own ‘bstnate may-—a way or manner, of frm neither appesned for revealed an commanded by Ge. Real sobmision is ‘hat which has bres perfected bythe Holy Prophet (ay Gent bless and give im Peace!) as the model for mankind, for hat isthe manner of submision of all the Prophets ax Messengers before bio, and the fort approved, reveled, ad commandes by Gor. Ths, the fundamental core of erie 6The concept of dor in the sense of tue obedience aud seal submission such as is here Geseribed in brief outline is ‘manifested in living realty in the Religion of Islam. Its Mat ue and perfect dia is realized, for in Isa is iss sell-expression fuliled completely sk the pattern or form according 0 which God governs His Kingdom: itis an imitation of the cosmic order Inanifested here in this worldly life as a social ae well as political order. The social order of Islam encompasses all Sspects of man’s physical and material and. spiitaal existence in a way which, here and nov, does justice 1 the individual as well asthe society: and to the individ as & physical being’ as well as dhe individual as spit, so that & Muslim is at once himself ané his Community, and his Community is also he, since erery other single member strives, like him, 10 realize the same purpose in life and to achieve the same goal. The social order of Islam is the Kingdom of God on earth, for in that order God, and not ‘mau, is sill the King, the Supreme Sovereign Whose Wi and Law and Ordinances and Comayands and Prohibition hhold absolute sway: Man is only His vicegerent oF Khaliah, Usho iy given the Wust of government, dhe annal, wo Fue according to God's Will and is Pleasure. When we sy rule", we do not simply mean te refer to the socio-political sense of ‘ruling’, for we mean by italso — indeed far move fundamentally so — dhe ruling of one’s self by itself, ince te ust refers to responsibility and freedom of the sel 10 flo justice to itsel: OF this Last statement We shill ave recourse to elaborate presently sitce what is meant reve the very principle of Islamic ethics and mori skin, we Say again, is a social order, but in that order every individual, each according to his latent capacity and power bestowed upon him by God to full and. realize his responsibility and freedom, strives to achieve and realize Feligion, chen is not dhe dlp bu rather, more Runde tally the submission for dhe Subwisin cous and ars ‘he bla be tre ad genuine, 66 the ideal for himself inthe Way® manilested by the Revealed Law® obeyed by all members of the Conus. ‘Thus then, just as every Muslin is a Khaliah of God on earth, so i every Muslim also His dave, His “at, striving by himself to perfect his service and devotion, his Wau, in the manner approved by God, his Absolute Master. And since every individual in this saci order is answerable to God alone, so even in that social order cach individual is personally directing his we and teal loyalty, dah, to Gord Alone, his Real King ‘We have already suid that the idea of a kingdom — a cosmopols. Co are the life blood of the cosmopolis, and such activity together with is various implications is indeed inherent in the concept din as we have thus far described. Is 00) wonder then that in the Holy Qur'an worldly depicted 30 persistently in the apt _mictaphors. of commercial enterprise. In the cesmopolis of kingdom reflected in the concept din, there is depicted the busting activites of the waffic of we. Man is inexorably engage the trade: absjarah im which Ie is himself the subject 36 well as object of this trade. He is his own eapital, and his loss and gain depend upon his own sense of responsibility and exercie of freedom. Hee carries out the trust of buying, and selling, of bay'ah, and bartering! ishtara, and itis his sel that he buys of sells or batters; and depending upon his town inclination towards the exerese of his will and deeds his wade will either prosper: tuba Tujara, or sulfer los ind rabiatijarak. In the situation that rises before our vision we must see that the man so engaged realizes the ler seriousness of the trading venture he bas willingly tundertaken.™ He is not simply an animal that eats and (68 By “the Way T wean (60 The Rescate Law, of shah is the Law of Gad W See aleab(38)72 at refers to ted, or perfection in 87drinks snd sleeps and disport after sensual pleasure” — no ‘swage nor barbarian he who thus transcends himself inthe teallzation of his weighty responsibilty and consciousness ‘of his freedom to full and redeem hinslf ofthe burden ‘of eistence, It sof such as he who bartrs his self for his true sll that Gad refers when Hl says in the Holy Quen Verily God has purchased of the Believers their “The concept din with reference to the man of Isim supposes the emergence i him ofthe higher ype of man ‘Capable of lolly asptaions toward selFimprovement — the telbdmprovement that iso less than the aetalization of his Tatent power and capacity to become perfect man. The rman of Islam as 4 city delle, a costopolian, Using 2 ‘hilzed life according to clearly defined foundations of focial order and codes of condac she to whom obedience fo Divine Lae endeavour towards realizing wue justice and Hriving aller right Anowledge are cardinal vires. The ‘motive of conduct of such a nian is eternal blesedness, fe lato a sate of supreme peace which he might tren here perchance foretste, but which shall be vouch: Safed to him when he enters the dreshold of that other Gay and becomes a dwells a czen of that other Kingdom ‘wherein hie ulate bile shall be the beholding of the Glorious Countenance of the King ‘While slim is the epitome of the Divine cosmic order, the man of lsln who f conscious of his destiny realizes that he is himself, ss physical being, also an epitome ofthe ‘cosmos, 4 microcosmic representation, alam sag, of the Macrocoanis, abduam athabi, Hence in the manner that Ibkim i like a Kingdom, a social order, so the man of stam TL See atang(7et79 72 AbTawtah (1 48 The mun of olin, he Mui, Snows that he isa kingdom in miniature, for in all mankind, is manifested the Attbutes of the twtou the reverse being the ease, since “God created matt Jn His Own Image.” Now man fs Both soul and ody, he et ‘once physical being and spirit, and his soul governs his body as God governs the Universe. Man alo has two sous analogous to his dual nature: the higher, rational soul: al haps a napigal andthe lower, animal or earnal soul: ab nafs, athayaconiyah Within the conceptual framework of the Concept dim applied here as a subjective, personal, ind ‘doa afr, man’s rational sul is King aid aust exert power and rule over the animal soul which is subject to it nd which mu be rendered submissive to it The effective power and rule exercised by the rational soul oser the ‘Animal soul and the subjugation and votalsubaison of th Inter tothe former can indced be interpreted as dino 3 ‘alam in the audjectne, personal indinidual sense of the Felationship thea established. ln this context isthe anal ‘oul that enslaes ill in submission and seivice and 0 returns! uel the power and authority ofthe rational soul. When the Holy Prophet {aay God bless and give his Peace!) si bees ol de box Die beforeye ie." — itis the same assaying : “Return before ye actualy return ind this efers othe subjagation of one's sel by one’s real Self, one's aninal soul by one's rational soul: and iis Pertaining to krowledge of this Self that he mieans wich he “He who knows his Sei knows his Lord” Farther, when Gad proclaimed His Lordship ta Aaann’s Progeny itis the rational soul of man that He addressed, 50that every soul as heard dhe “Am { not your Lord and fnwered “Yea!” and testified thus unt cl So the man of Takin who i rightly guided acts accordingly as bells the tue servant of God, His ‘abt. We referred earlier to the purpose for man’s creation and existence, saying that i is to serve God; and we sid that the act of service on the tans part elle tka and the service as ach ‘ida, Which fefers to all conscious and willing ace of service for the sake of God alone and approved by Him, including uch as are prescribed worship. In point af fact, we now 3 further tht tothe man of slam his whole ethical life is one ‘continuous dah, for Ili itself complete way of ie When she man hat, by ieans of “ibiday, succeeded in curbing his animal and carnal pasions and bas thereby fendered submissive his animal soul, making it subject 6 the rational soul, dhe man thas described fas attained to freedom i that he has lilled dhe puspose for his creation and exinence; he has achieved supreme peace™ and his ‘souls pacified, being set at liber a mere, ree from the fetter of inexorable fate and the nosy strife and hell of human vices, His rational soul inthis spiritual station is called in the Holy Qur'an the “pacified” or wang” sou: tng abmama”ivnah This isthe sul dhat ‘recurs’ ill ‘lings tt Lord, and to i wil God address His Words hy Sl gona Bl ol ele Gt Bah oe deat be Sal, “0 thou soul at peace! Return thou to thy Lord, — well pleased (hysel) and wellpleasiag, unto Him! Enter thou, then, among My servants! Yes, enter thou My Heaven!™ 7A. When we alo ay tat nn oe Peace’ eee in fc 0 the consequence of the aibmision denoted by the verb ‘lone 15 Aiba 927390, 70 “This isthe soul ut the servant who bas flied iw constant alfirmation his Covenant with his Lord, and since none fee hi Lord beter than the te and loyal servant, who Ly eason of such service gains sntinacy with is Lord ad Master 50 idadak means, in is fna, advanced sages, ow ledge: ma vjah™ Ihave traced in bate outline dhe fundamental cre of the Religion of Inti and have sown ina general way which ‘an albeit, be elaborated ta ite inutet logical details is Sllencompaning uature which pervades the life of the individual a well the society. Lave sid dat bla isthe Subjective, persenal religion ofthe individual as well 5th ‘objective, pervaing selfsame religion of the Community at it operate an the same velgion ithe individual as 1% We do notin the lest py heve that wen taal becomes ‘lentiied wi maijok de former a work or service Cama Including pryer (ali — te. the presided Gar the Confined practice of the Prophet summa), the sper Sropsory (nahi) — bs no longer incumbent on we onc Sho atains ee lr, ha for aich a one prayer means Simca ene. te oper (Gi) and ight Keng or spiiual mood (ai and the former which mars the inal ages ofthe pal ata (agi, pecedes the later which mars the Begining of the spit ser” (ofa So mah marks the pal trationpoia between, ike priual sation al the sya ue Aa such, ad since is krowledge that coms Hon God othe heart (gal) and depends ensitely Him, is no necessary a peranern ues ‘continually secre and fore by adak He who dace Lowedge fom God about God(ee the nf wo uansfrin thereby his Wada solely nto contemplation, for the anf fcitely are ofthe fact that he hecomes one 3 leas partly ‘Sue to his iad which the mean by which he Sppmaches hs Lond nsingle entity as well asthe society composed collectively of such entities 1s implicit in ove expeaition that Iam both belief and faith (ima a well a submis in service (idem); it both assent of the heatt (gol) and minaogd