Democracy and Islam

Democracy and Islam
Guest Author - Serkan Tufan

""In an iconology book that was published two centuries ago, democracy was illustrated as a women who has a crown of grape leaves, dressed badly, a pomegrane in one hand, a snake in the other hand.

Every era have had democracy speak their own dreams and agendas, every demagog their own lies. Blood has been shed like rivers for the sake of democracy (i.e. French revolution) What is this democracy?

"Pure democracy is the despotism of trash class" says Voltaire. "The base of democracy is grace and virtue" says Montesquieu. DeMaistre says "It is ambition", while For Vacherot, it is the base of justice. Proudhon thinks it is the end of all spiritual and physical rule. Thierry thinks that the end of democratic republics is a moral decay.

When it comes to today, a Weberian sociolog think democracy is different than other political regimes since it proposes freedom first. This notion defines the ultimate purpose of democracy: equality. Yet, there is never pure freedom occuring since if there is ultimate freedom in everything, democracy loses its rationale for existence and leaves its place to anarchy. To fully understand the democracies in history and to define how they deviated from their main purpose, we should compare them with this pure form of democracy. (More info: J. Freund, Le Nouvel Age, Paris, Riviere, 1970).

This is the European understanding of dmeocracy. Here is the Islamic perspective of government:
People are equal by birth. They are equal in being servant to God and being temporary in this world. Then, they gain another equality by faith, they become brothers and sisters. They will benefit from God's bounties equally: equality in law and positivity.

All the personal-dignity the servant of God has is in being a believer. When a servant of God became believer, he also gain a status in the law that equates the begger on the street to sultan.

For Islam, freedom is not a philosophical concept, rather a concept of lawful rights. The base is the belief that all the members in the society has equal rights.

The only ruler is God, the right cannot be emanded to others. God directly gives the authority to the ruler of the country (whether they came by monarchy or by election). There is no physical authority rather than Allah's. To argue agains that is to reject God and assign another God. The ruler of the country is only a tool of God. So, in Islam, there are many ways to rebel against opression and arbitrary actions that is out of the decision of Quran.

People of the book (mainly Christian, Jew and some others) are awarded with a right whose boundaries are defined but guaranteed as long as they accept Islam rule and pay taxes. This protection is like a generousity for the guests. The protected people of the book have less responsibility towards the government and many rights, which also include they are free with their religion and they can apply their rules and laws in their societies.

There is not much protection for those who reject and rebell against God (anarchy, terrorism, and idolatery). Yet, Muslims have also protected them from time to time. Every atheist and idolatery come in the pact as soon as they accept Islam. Islam is a universal religion, it addresses the whole humanity.
There is no social class or cast system in Islam civilization. People are not divided by their status or wealth. A muslim is equal to another. There is no big gap and division between poor and rich . And there is no hatred, jealousy, and disagreement like in many other systems.

Order is Quran's. Law is for all believers. Believers read Quran themselves, memorize, and act accordingly. The power of execution (both for religious and worldy issues) is only God's. This power of execution is applied via a governor who has no law maker or judicial power himself.

Citizenship is not bounded by land or blood, but by faith. There is no translation-meaning of the word "ummah" ("ummat")- this notion of citizenship as politic and religious tie- in European languages. Quran is both a book of servantship and prayer and a constitution book .It addresses all humanity (more info: Gardet, La Cite Musulmane, Paris, Vrin, 1970).

Hence, the main concept in Islam is equality. This is not a purpose but it is a basic right. Freedom, is another image or name of equality. In a religion that does not recognize the social class or superiority of anyone even governer, whose freedom against whom is aimed? West defines freedom as the right to make mistakes. Muslims do not have such as right since they are bounded by the ultimate, universal and eternal truth.

Yes, Islam is the rule of law and order (nomocracy). It had alrady captured the notion of equality that West has been trying to establish. In Islam, the freedom of thought is considered as an education and teaching opportunity rather than a weapon of attack to others. Islam is the exact democracy, but growing in a different climate of spirit and leaning against very different principles.""

Allaahu Akbar

Allaahu Akbar

Allaah – the Most High – says:

“But He will call you to account for what your hearts have earned.” [Soorah al-Baqarah (2):225]

“The day when neither wealth nor children will be of any avail, except he who comes to Allaah with a clean and pure heart.” [Soorah ash-Shu`araa 26:88-89]

The Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam said:

“Indeed, there is a piece of flesh in the body; if it is sound, then all the body is sound. However, if it is diseased, then all the body is diseased. Truly that is the heart.” [Al-Bukhaaree 1/126, Muslim 1599 from Nu`maan ibn Basheer radhiallahu `anhumaa]

Al-Hafidh Ibn Rajab (d. 795H) – rahimahullaah – said:

“So know that the world – and whatever is above it and below in the water – will not be corrected except when the actions of its people are all for Allaah. The actions of the body follow on from the actions and intentions of the heart. So when the actions and intentions of the heart are purely for Allaah alone, then it is corrected, and likewise the actions of the body will also be correct. However, if the actions and intentions of the heart are for other than Allaah, then it is corrupted, and likewise the actions of the body will be corrupted in proportion to how much the heart is corrupted.” [Jaami` al-`Uloom wal-Hikam p. 120]. And he said, “Hearts will not be corrected until the ma`rifah (knowledge and realisation) of Allaah – being in awe of His greatness, loving Him, fearing Him, hoping in Him, relying and trusting in Him – is not firmly implanted in them. This is the reality of Tawheed and the meaning of the saying: laa ilaaha illallaah (that none has the right to be worshipped except Allaah). Thus, hearts will not be corrected until Allaah is made the ilaah (deity) to be known, to be loved, feared and hoped in, and that He – along with this – becomes the only ilaah (deity) worthy of this, without associating any partner to Him in this.” [Jaami` al-`Uloom wal-Hikam p. 120].

Indeed, we may begin to appreciate the greatness of Allaah – the Most High’s – and being in awe of Him, by considering some narrations regarding what He - the Most High – has created:

The Prophet, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam said:

“Indeed I see what you do not see and hear what you do not hear. Heaven has groaned, and it has a right to do so. By Him in Whose Hand is my soul! There is not in heaven a space equivalent to four fingers, except that an angel has prostrated his forehead to Allaah in it. By Allaah! If you knew what I know, you would laugh little and weep a lot, and you would not take delight in women in their beds, but rather would go to the wilderness and implore Allaah for help.” [Hasan: Related by ibn Maajah (4190) and at-Tirmidhee (2/51) who authenticated it, from Abu Dharr radhiallahu `anhu]

He sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam said:

“The seven Heavens compared to the Kursee is like a ring in which is thrown into a desert. And such is the magnitude of the `Arsh (the Throne of Allah) compared with the Kursee.” [Saheeh: Related by Ibn Abee Shaybah in Kitaabul `Arsh (1/114), and Al Bayhaqee in Al-Asmaa was-Sifaat (p. 290), from Abu Dharr radhiallahu `anhu. The hadeeth is authentic due to its various routes of transmission – as Shaykh al-Albaanee has explained in As-Saheehah no 109.]

And He sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam said:

“Al-Baytul-Ma`moor is in the seventh heaven [directly above the Ka`bah]. Each day seventy thousand angels enter it, and they will not return until the Day of Resurrection.” [Saheeh; Related by Abu Daawood (no 4727) and al-Bayhaqee in al-Asmaa was-Sifaat (no. 398), from Jaabir radhiallahu `anhu. It was authenticated by Imaam adh-Dhahabee in al-`Uluww (p. 58).

So: “the need of the servants for this (type of) knowledge is greater than every other need; and it is the most necessary of all things for hem, since there is no life for the hearts, nor any delight, nor any tranquility, except through knowing their Lord, the only One Who deserves to be worshipped, their Creator – with His Names, His Attributes and His Actions, and that He – along with all that - is more beloved to the person than anything else. So man’s striving is with regards to everything that will draw him nearer to Allaah, to the exclusion of the creation… So the people who know Allaah the best, are the ones who best follow the way to Him; and know best what lies at the end of the way.”

Meanings of "Ar-Raheem", "Ash-Shakoor" and "Al-`Adheem"

Meanings of "Ar-Raheem", "Ash-Shakoor" and "Al-`Adheem"

Knowing Allaah through His Names and Attributes causes a person to realize that (only) Allaah is worthy of worship, so therefore this knowledge necessitates action. Understanding the meaning of Allaah’s Names causes a person to have proper fear of Allaah, love of Him, hope in His Mercy, reliance and dependance upon Him etc., and also to fulfill one's purpose of creation - `ibaadah of Allaah subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa. Knowledge of Allaah's Names and Attributes is also the most praiseworthy of all types of knowledge.

It seems, unfortunately, that it is virtually impossible to find an authentic explanation of the meanings of Allaah's Names in the English language. A number of Sufi books containing such information are in print, but they usually contain erroneous information, like "If you say this name X times such and such will happen to you." In fact, an Imaam said once that a Sufi he knew once engaged in a similar act - he was told that he will see the Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, if he makes salawaat on the Prophet 14,000 times between salatul `ishaa and salatul fajr. He did and became disappointed having seen that nothing happened, so he then left the Deen altogether.

What follows is three names and their meanings along with an explanation and the influence they have on one’s relationship with Allaah subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa, in terms of worshipping Him, subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa.

1. Ar-Raheem. Bestower of Mercy. Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta`aaalaa) is Merciful to both disbelievers and believers, and to the more pious and the less pious among the believers. In Ibn Katheer’s tafseer it is reported that the effects of the attribute ar-Rahmaan extend to all creation, while those that of ar-Raheem are confined to the believers. "And He is Merciful (Raheem) to the believers." [33:43] Allaah in His Mercy rewards the believers in the Hereafter and due to their belief and righteous deeds and He admits them to the Jannah. When one knows that in the Hereafter Allaah confines His mercy to the believers (and deals with the unbelievers with His justice), one will seek to worship Allaah and come nearer to Him in order to deserve His mercy in the Hereafter.

2. Ash-Shakoor. The All-Appreciative. Allaah subhaanahu wa ta`aala does not leave the acts of His servants which He has legislated unrewarded. When one does a good deed (deed done purely for Allaah and in accordance with the Sunnah), Allaah ta`aalaa rewards it ten times, and up to seven hundred times, and sometimes even more. Therefore, if a person know that his deed not will not be left unrewarded, he will try to worship Allaah properly and try to do many good deeds so as to gain Allaah’s reward. "Why should Allaah punish you if you have thanked (Him) and have believed in Him. And Allaah is Ever All-Appreciative (of good), All-Knowing." [4:147] "And they will say: ‘All the praises and thanks be to Allaah, Who has removed from us (all) grief. Verily, our Lord is indeed Oft-Forgiving, Most Ready to appreciate (good deeds and to recompense)." [35:34]

3. Al-`Adheem. This name has two meanings to it. The first is that all the meanings of perfection and greatness belong to Allaah subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa and none else. His knowledge is perfect and all encompassing, his power is perfect and all encompassing, nothing weakens Him and His wisdom is perfect. The second meaning is that nobody should be therefore glorified or worshipped except for Allaah. And that any praise you give to the creation is because Allaah has given that quality to the object praised. So praise is again really due to Allaah. Understanding this makes a person subdued and makes him realize his need to worship the Creator of the universe and all that it contains.

Love of Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala

Love of Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala

Imam Ibn ul Qayyim al Jawziyyah

Ibn al-Qaiyim mentioned ten causes that result in Allah's love for His slave and the slave's love for his Lord. [These ten are:]

First, reciting the Qur'an while pondering over its meanings and what is meant by it.

Second, getting closer to Allah by performing voluntary deeds after completing obligatory deeds. This is as is stated in a Hadith Qudsi: "My slave continues getting closer to Me by performing voluntary deeds until I love him." [al-Bukhari]

Third, continual remembrance of Allah under all circumstances, with one's tongue, heart and actions. The extent of one's love of Allah is determined by this.

Fourth, giving precedence to what He loves over what you love when you are overtaken by your desires.

Fifth, the heart being avid of Allah's Names, and Attributes and the heart roaming in that garden of knowledge.

Sixth, observing Allah's kindness, goodness and bounties, both hidden and open.

Seventh, and this is the most wonderful, the heart being soft, subdued and meek before Allah.

Eighth, being alone with Allah during the time when the Lord descends during the last portion of the night while reading His Book and ending that by asking for forgiveness and repenting.

Ninth, sitting with the beloved and sincere, benefitting from the most fruitful of their speech. And not to speak unless speaking is more beneficial and you know that it will improve your state and be beneficial to others.

Tenth, remaining away from every cause that comes between the heart and Allah.

These ten causes take the lovers to the station of true love and bring them to their Beloved.

Iman Must Be Taken as a Whole

Iman Must Be Taken as a Whole

Shaykh `Abdul Rahman `Abdul Khaliq

Iman must be taken as a whole. It is a total truth that cannot be separated from its parts. Dividing Iman into different categories is only to help study it. To shun and reject any of these parts, however, means that Kufr in all other parts exists. To prove the above, we mention what Allah said, translated it means: "Then do you believe in a part of the Scripture and reject the rest? Then what is the recompense of those who do so among you, except disgrace in the life of this world, and on the Day of Resurrection they shall be consigned to the most grievous torment. And Allah is aware of what you do." [2:85]

And, "Verily, those who disbelieve in Allah and His Messengers and wish to make distinction between Allah and His messengers and wish to make distinction between Allah and His messengers (by believing in Allah and disbelieving in His messengers) saying: ‘We believe in some but reject others’ and wish to take a way in between. They are in truth disbelievers. And We have prepared for disbelievers a humiliating torment." [4:150-151]

These are clear Nusus (texts) from the Quran. They prove that Iman and implementation cannot be separated from each other. The above Ayat, although directed at the Jews, must be taken as general. Whatever Allah blames others for doing, must be known to Muslims that the same blame will be directed at them, if they commit them. The first Nass (text), [2:85], is about a type of actions. The second, [4:150-151], is about a type of belief.

The first Ayah explains what the Jews used to do in Madinah. Some of them were allies of one Arab tribe, Al-Aws, while other Jews were allies of Al-Khazraj, another Arab tribe of Madinah. Whenever war started between these two camps, Jews on either side would kill other Jews on the opposing camp. Jews would kill Jews and occupy their houses. When the war ends , leaders of Jews on both camps would meet to exchange prisoners and treat the injured. Therefore, Allah said, what translated means: "And (remember) when We took your covenant (saying): ‘Shed not the blood of your people, nor turn out your own people from their dwelling. Then, (this), you ratified and (to this) you bear witness. After this, it is you who kill one another and drive out a party of you from their homes, assist (their enemies) against them, in sin and transgression. And if they come to you as captives, you ransom them, although their expulsion was forbidden to you. Then do you believe in a part of the Scripture and reject the rest? Then what is the recompense of those who do so among you, except disgrace in the life of this world, and on the Day of Resurrection they shall be consigned to the most grievous torment. And Allah is aware of what you do." [2:84-85]

The second text is also about the Jews. Jews accepted the prophecy of Moses and rejected the prophecy of Jesus and Mohammad. This is discrimination between Allah’s Messengers.

The purpose behind mentioning these two examples is to show that Iman must be taken as a whole. This rule will be further explained with the introduction of examples as to what negates belief.

Iman is nullified when a part of it is disputed. This is because rejection of a part of belief is in reality rejection of the whole belief. Whenever one believes that Allah is the All-Knower, the All-Wise, then, he has believed. However, whenever one thinks that any action or order of Allah’s is unwise, then, he has negated his previous belief. Also, whoever believes in all Prophets except one Prophet, negates his belief. In reality, such a person does not believe in any Prophet. Allah is the One who sent all Prophets. To discriminate against one Messenger is rejection of the wisdom of He Who sent all Prophets, Allah, all praise be to Him. Likewise, disbelieving in angels is like relating falsehood to Allah, a clear Kufr.

To regard Haram (impermissible) as Halal (permissible) is Kufr. It is equal to saying to Allah, "I do not accept this Commandment form you, nor approve the wisdom behind it. It should be Halal". This will negate the previous Iman, f there was previous Iman. This is similar to whoever refuses to obey Allah out of arrogance, as if saying to Him: "I will not obey you or implement your Law. Your Commandment is not out of knowledge or wisdom." This type of Kufr is what Satan had. His arrogance led him to reject Allah’s order, claiming that there is neither wisdom nor knowledge behind it. This is the reason why such rejection and disobedience are Kufr. It is not disobeying Allah anymore, rather, it is refuting Allah’s Commandments, believing that they did not proceed out of wisdom or knowledge. This will negate and destroy all previous Iman and obedience.

Love for the Messenger sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam

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Love for the Messenger sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam

Imam Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali

It is related in the Sahihain of al-Bukhari and Muslim, rahimahumallaah, from Anas, radhiallahu `anhu, that the Prophet, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam, said: "None of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him than his father, his child and all of mankind."

And in the same sources we find that `Umar ibn al Khattab, radhiallahu `anhu, said to Allah's Messenger, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, "O Rasoolullah, you are more beloved to me than anything except my own self." Allah's Messenger, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam, then told him, "No, by the One in Whose Hand is my soul, not until I am more beloved to you than your own soul." `Umar then told him, "By Allah, now you are more beloved to me than my own soul." Allah's Messenger, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, then told him that now he had the complete and correct faith.

---

Ibn Rajab says about love of the Messenger sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam:

Love for the Messenger sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam is at two levels.

The first level is obligatory. This is the love that requires one to accept whatever the Messenger sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam brought from Allah and to receive it with love, pleasure, esteem and submission, without seeking guidance from any other source whatsoever. This is then followed by excellent following of him in whatever he conveyed from his Lord and to affirm whatever he has reported of obligations, to remain away from anything he has prohibited of forbidden acts, to give support for his religion and to strive against those who oppose him according to one's ability. All of this are necessary components that one must possess and a person's Faith is not complete without them.

The second level is superior [and not an absolutely necessary component of Faith]. This type of love requires following his example in an excellent way and fulfilling the following of his Sunnah with respect to his behavior, manners, voluntary deeds, superogatory actions, eating, drinking, dressing, excellent behaviour with his wives and other aspects of his perfect manners and pure behavior. It also includes learning about his life and days. It also includes the heart trembling when mentioning him, saying prayers and blessings upon him often out of what resides in the heart of love for him, esteem for him and respect for him. It also includes loving to listen to his words and preferring them over the words of others of the creation. And one of the greatest aspects of this love is to follow him in his abstinence of this world, his being suffices with a little and his turning to and desiring of the everlasting Hereafter.

ISLAM AND OTHER RELIGIONS

ISLAM AND OTHER RELIGIONS

by Shaheed Isma'il Raji al Faruqi with permission of the Islamic Institute for Strategic Studies, Washington, Virginia, which plans to publish this article as part of a book--Shaping the Future: A Grand Strategy for America--by Dr. Robert D. Crane. Shaheed Faruqi was the founding president of the International Institute of Islamic Thought in Herndon, Virginia. Earlier versions of this article were published in the late 1970s, and in the American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences around 1985. Errors introduced in scanning this article from the printed version are ours.

|ISLAMIC META-RELIGION |A. Judaism and Christianity |B. The Other Religions |C. Islam and All Humans |ISLAMIC META-RELIGION IN HISTORY |A. The Jewish Ummah |B. The Christian Ummah |C. Ummah of Other Religions |CONCLUSION

Toward an Islamic Theory of Meta-Religion

The relation of Islam to the other religions has been established by God in His revelation, the Qur'an. No Muslim therefore may deny it; since for him the Qur'an is the ultimate religious authority. Muslims regard the Qur'an as God's own word verbatim, the final and definitive revelation of His will for all space and time, for all mankind.

The only kind of contention possible for the Muslim is that of exegetical variation. But in this realm, the scope of variation is limited in two directions. First, continuity of Muslim practice throughout the centuries constitutes an irrefutable testament to the meanings attributed to the Qur'anic verses. Second, the methodology of Muslim orthodoxy in exegesis rests on the principle that Arabic lexicography, grammar, and syntax, which have remained frozen and in perpetual use by the millions ever since their crystallization in the Qur'an, leave no contention without solution. These facts explain the universality with which the Qur'anic principles were understood and observed, despite the widest possible variety of ethnic cultures, languages, races, and customs characterizing the Muslim world, from Morocco to Indonesia, and from Russia and the Balkans to the heart of Africa.

As for the non-Muslims, they may contest the principles of Islam. They must know, however, that Islam does not present its principles dogmatically, for those who believe or wish to believe, exclusively. It does so rationally, critically. It comes to us armed with logical and coherent arguments, and expects our acquiescence on rational, and hence necessary, grounds. It is not legitimate for us to disagree on the relativist basis of personal taste, or that of subjective experience.

We propose to analyze Islam's ideational relation in three stages: that which pertains to Judaism and Christianity, that which pertains to the other religions, and that which pertains to religion as such, and hence to all humans, whether they belong to any or no religion.

A. Judaism and Christianity

Islam accords to these two religions special status. First, each of them is the religion of God. Their founders on earth, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, are the prophets of God. What they have conveyed -- the Torah, the Psalms, the Evangel (gospels) -- are revelations from God. To believe in these prophets, in the revelations they have brought, is integral to the very faith of Islam. To disbelieve in them, nay to discriminate among them, is apostasy. "Our Lord and your Lord is indeed God, the One and Only God." God described His Prophet Muhammad and his followers as "believing all that has been revealed from God"; as "believing in God, in His angels, in His revelations and Prophets"; as not-distinguishing among the Prophets of God."

Arguing with Jews and Christians who object to this self-identification and claim an exclusivist monopoly on the former prophets, the Qur'an says: "You claim that Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and their tribes were Jews or Christians [and God claims otherwise]. Would you claim knowledge in these matters superior to God's?" "Say, [Muhammad], We believe in God, in what has been revealed by Him to us, what has been revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, the tribes; in what has been conveyed to Moses, to Jesus, and all the prophets from their Lord." "We have revealed [Our revelation) to you [Muhammad] as We did to Noah and the Prophets after him, to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, the tribes, to Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron, Solomon, and David." "It is God indeed, the living and eternal One, that revealed to you [Muhammad] the Book [i.e., the Qur'an] confirming the previous revelations. For it is He Who revealed the Torah and the Gospels as His guidance to mankind. ... Who revealed the Psalms to David." "Those who have attained to faith [in this divine writ], those who follow the Jewish [scriptures], and the Sabians and the Christians -- all those who believe in God and in the Day of Judgment, and have done good work -- will receive their due reward from God. They have no cause to fear, nor shall they grieve."

The honor with which Islam regards Judaism and Christianity, their founders and scriptures, is not courtesy but acknowledgment of religious truth. Islam sees them in the world not as "other views" which it has to tolerate, but as standing de jure, as truly revealed religions from God. Moreover, their legitimate status is neither sociopolitical, nor cultural or civilizational, but religious. In this, Islam is unique. For no religion in the world has yet made belief in the truth of other religions a necessary condition of its own faith and witness.

Consistently, Islam pursues this acknowledgment of religious truth in Judaism and Christianity to its logical conclusion, namely, self-identification with them. Identity of God, the source of revelation in the three religions, necessarily leads to identity of the revelations and of the religions. Islam does not see itself as coming to the religious scene ex nihilo but as reaffirmation of the same truth presented by all the preceding prophets of Judaism and Christianity. It regards them all as Muslims, and their revelations as one and the same as its own. Together with Hanifism, the monotheistic and ethical religion of pre-Islamic Arabia, Judaism, Christianity and Islam constitute crystallizations of one and the same religious consciousness whose essence and core is one and the same. The unity of this religious consciousness can easily be seen by the historian of civilization concerned with the ancient Near East. It is traceable in the literatures of these ancient peoples and is supported by the unity of their physical theater or geography, in their languages (for which they are called "Semitic"), and in the unity of artistic expression.

This unity of the religious consciousness of the Near East consists of five dominant principles that characterize the known literatures of the peoples of this region. They are: 1) the ontic disparateness of God, the Creator, from His creatures, unlike the attitudes of ancient Egyptians, Indians, or Chinese, according to which God or the Absolute is immanently His own creatures; 2) the purpose of man's creation is neither God's self-contemplation nor man's enjoyment, but unconditional service to God on earth, His own "manor"; 3) the relevance of Creator to creature, or the will of God, is the content of revelation and is expressed in terms of law, of oughts and moral imperatives; 4) man, the servant, is master of the manor under God, capable of transforming it through his own efficacious action into what God desires it to be; and 5) man's obedience to and fulfillment of the divine command results in happiness and felicity, and its opposite in suffering and damnation, thus coalescing worldly and cosmic justice together.

The unity of "Semitic" religious and cultural consciousness was not affected by intrusion of the Egyptians in the days of their empire (1465-1165 B.C.), nor by the Philistines from Caphtor (Crete?), nor by the Hittites, Kassites, or "People of the Mountains" (the Aryan tribes?), who were all semiticized and assimilated, despite their military conquests. Islam has taken all this for granted. It has called the central religious tradition of til Semitic peoples "Hanifism" and identified itself with it. Unfortunately for the early Muslim scholars who benefited from this insight as they labored, the language, histories, and literature furnished by archeology and the disciplines of the ancient Near East were not yet available. Hence they scrambled after the smallest bits of oral tradition, which they systematized for us undt the tide of "History of the Prophets." In reading their materials, we must remember, however, that the accurate-knowledge (Abraham, of Julius Caesar, of Amr ibn al As, and of Napoleot about the Sphinx or the pyramids of Egypt, for instance, was equa i.e., nil.

The Islamic concept of "Hanif" should not be compared to Ka Rahner's "anonymous Christians." "Hanif" is a Qur'anic category not the invention of a modern theologian embarrassed by his church's exclusivist claim to divine grace. It has been operating within the Islamic ideational system for fourteen centuries. Those to whom it is attributed are the paradigms of faith and greatness the most honored representatives of religious life, not the despised though tolerated approximators of the religious ideal. Islam's honoring of the ancient prophets and their followers is to be maintained even if the Jews and Christians stop or diminish their loyalty to them. "Worthier of Abraham are those who really follow him, this Prophet and those who believe in him." In the Qur'an, the Christians are exalted for their self-discipline and humility, and they are declared the closest of all believers to the Muslims. "[0 Muhammad], you and the believers will find closest in love and friendship those who say 'We are Christians,' for many of them are ministers and priests who are truly humble?" If despite all this commendation of them, of their prophets, and of their scriptures, Jews and Christians would persist in opposing and rejecting the Prophet and his followers, God commanded all Muslims to call the Jews and Christians in these words: "0 People of the Book, come now with us to rally around a fair and noble principle common to both of us, that all of us shall worship and serve none but God, that we shall associate naught with Him, and that we shall not take one another as lords beside God. But if they still persist in their opposition, then warn them that We shall persist in our affirmation."

Evidently, Islam has given the maximum that can ever be given to another religion. It has acknowledged as true the other religion's prophets and founders, their scriptures and teaching. Islam has declared its God and the God of the religions of Jews and Christians as One and the same. It has declared the Muslims the assistants, friends, and supporters of the adherents of the other religions, under God. If, after all this, differences persist, Islam holds them to be of no consequence. Such differences must not be substantial. They can be surmounted and resolved through more knowledge, good will, and wisdom. Islam treats them as domestic disputes within one and the same religious family. And as long as we both recognize that God alone is Lord to each and every one of us, no difference and no disagreement is beyond solution. Our religious, cultural, social, economic, and political differences may all be composed under the principle that God alone -- not any one of us, not our passions, our egos, or our prejudices -- is God.

B. The Other Religions

Islam teaches that the phenomenon of prophecy is universal; that it has taken place throughout all space and time. "Every human," the Qur'an affirms, "is responsible for his own personal deeds. On the Day of Judgment, We shall produce publicly the record of such deeds and ask everyone to examine it, because it alone will be the basis of reckoning. Whoever is rightly guided so to his own credit; whoever errs does so to his own discredit. There is no vicarious guilt; and We shall not condemn [i.e., We shall not judge] until We had sent a prophet." It follows from God's absolute justice that He would hold nobody responsible unless His law has been conveyed, promulgated, and is known. Such conveyance and/or promulgation are precisely the phenomenon of prophecy. The same principle was operative in the ancient Near East, where the states carved their laws in stone stelae that they erected everywhere for people to read. Ignorance of the divine law is indeed an argument when it is not the effect of unconcern or neglect; and it is always an attenuating factor. Being absolutely just, as well as absolutely merciful and forgiving, God, Islam holds, left no people without a prophet to teach them the divine law. "There is no people," the Qur'an asserts, "but a warner/prophet has been sent to them." Some of these prophe are widely known; others are not. So neither the Jewish nor the Christian nor the Muslim ignorance of them implies the nonexistence. We have indeed sent prophets before you [Muhammad]. About some of them We have informed you. About others We have not." Thus the whole of mankind, past and present, is capable of religious merit and felicity as well as demerit and damnation, because of the universality of prophecy.

As Islam conceives it, the divine system is one of perfect justice. Universalism and absolute egalitarianism are constitutive of it. Hence, the phenomenon of prophecy not only must needs be universally present but also its content must be absolutely the same. If different in each case, the universalism of the phenomenon would have little effect. Therefore Islam teaches that the prophets of all times and places have taught one and the same lesson; that God has not differentiated among His messengers. "We have sent to every people a messenger," the Qur'an affirms, "to teach them that worship and service are due to God alone; that evil must be avoided [and the good pursued]." "We have sent no messenger except to convey [the divine message] in the tongue of his own people, to make it [the content] clearly comprehensible to them." With this reassurance, no human has any excuse for failing to acknowledge God, or to obey His law." "[We have sent to every people] prophets to preach and to warn, so that no human may have an argument against God's judgment of that individual's deeds]."

Islam thus lays the ground for a relation with all peoples, not only with Jews and Christians whose prophets are confirmed in the Qur'an. Having once been the recipients of revelation, and of a revelation that is identical to that of Islam, the whole of mankind may be recognized by Muslims as equally honored, as they are, by virtue of revelation and also as equally responsible, as they are, to acknowledge God as the only God and to offer Him worship, service, and obedience to His eternal laws.

If, as Islam holds, all prophets have conveyed one and the same message, whence the tremendous variety of the historical religions of mankind? To this question, Islam furnishes a theoretical answer and a practical one.

1) Islam holds that the messages of all prophets had but one essence and core composed of two elements. First is tawhid, or the acknowledgment that God alone is God and that all worship, service, and obedience are due to Him alone. Second is morality, which the Qur'an defines as service to God, doing good, and avoiding evil.

Each revelation had come figurized in a code of behavior particularly applicable to its people, and hence relevant to their historical situation and conditions. This particularization does not affect the essence or core of the revelation. If it did, God's justice would not be absolute and the claims of universalism and egalitarianism would fall to the ground. Particularization in the divine law must therefore affect the "how" of service, not its purpose or "what," the latter being always the good, righteousness, justice, and obedience to God. If it ever affects the "what," it must do so only in those areas that are non-constitutive and hence unimportant and accidental. This principle has the special merit of rallying humanity, whether potentially or actually, around common principles of religion and morality, and of removing such principles from contention, and from relativism and subjectivism.

There is therefore a legitimate ground for the religious variety in history. In His mercy, God has taken due account of the particular conditions of each people. He has revealed to them all a message that is the same in essence; but He has conveyed to each one of them His law in a prescriptive form relevant to their particular conditions, to their own grade of development on the human scale. And we may conclude that such differences are de jure because they do not affect the essence.

2) The second cause of religious diversity is not as benevolent as the first. The first, we have seen, is divine; the second, human. To acknowledge and do the will of God conveyed through revelation is not always welcomed by all people. Some with vested interests may not agree with the divine dispensations, and numerous circumstances favor such disagreement.

First, divine revelation has practically always and everywhere advocated charity and altruism, ministering by the rich to the material needs of the poor. The rich do not always acquiesce in this moral imperative and may incline against it.

Second, divine revelation is nearly always in favor of ordered social living. It would counsel obedience of the ruled to the law and self-discipline. But it always does so under the assumption of a rule of justice, which may not always be agreeable to rulers and kings who seek to have their own way. Their will power may incline them against the social ethic of revelation.

Third, divine revelation always reminds man to measure himself by reference to God and His law, not by reference to himself. But man is vain; and self-adoration is for him a constant temptation.

Fourth, revelation demands of humans that they discipline their instincts and keep their emotions under control. Humans, however, are inclined to indulgence. Orgies of instinct-satisfaction and emotional excitement have punctuated human life. Often, this inclination militates against revelation.

Fifth, where the contents of revelation are not judiciously and meticulously remembered, taught, and observed publicly and by the greatest numbers, they tend to be forgotten. When they are transmitted from generation to generation and are not embodied in public customs observed by all, the divine imperatives may suffer dilution, shift of emphasis, or change.

Finally, when the divine revelation is moved across linguistic, ethnic, and cultural frontiers -- indeed, even to generations within the same people but fa removed from its original recipients in time -- it may well change through interpretation. Any or all of these circumstances ma bring about a corruption of the original revelation.

This is why God has seen fit to repeat the phenomenon C prophecy, to send forth prophets to reconvey the divine message and reestablish it in the minds and hearts of humans. This divine injection into history is an act of sheer mercy. It is continual, always ad hoc, unpredictable. To those who inquire, What was the rationale behind sending Muhammad at that time and place, the Qur'an answers: "God knows better where and when to send prophets to convey His message."

C. lslam's Relation to all Humans

Islam has related itself, equally, to all other religions, whether recognized, historical, or otherwise. Indeed, even to the a-religionists and atheists -- whatever their color -- Islam has related itself in a constructive manner, its purpose being to rehabilitate them as integral members of society.

This relation constitutes Islam's humanism. At its root stand the reason for creation, man's raison d'etre. The first mention of the divine plan to create mankind occurs in a conversation with the angels. "I plan to place on earth a vicegerent. The angel responded: Would you place on earth a being who would also do evil and shed blood while we always praise and glorify and obey You? God said: I have another purpose unknown to you." The angels, evidently, are beings created by God to act as His messengers and/or instruments. By nature, they are incapable of acting otherwise than as God instructs them to act, and hence they are incapable of morality. Their necessary predicament, always to do God's bidding, differentiates them from the human creature God was about to place on earth.

In another dramatic and eloquent passage, the Qur'an reports: "We [God] offered the trust to heaven and earth and mountain. They refused to undertake it out of fear. But man did undertake it." In the heavens, on earth, and in the mountains, God's will is fulfilled with the necessity of natural law. Creation therefore, to the exclusion of man, is incapable of fulfilling the higher part of God's will, namely, the moral law. Only man is so empowered; for morality requires that its fulfillment be free; that its opposite or alternative, that which is amoral or immoral, be possible of fulfillment by the same person at the same time and in the same respect. It is of the nature of the moral deed that it be done when the agent could do otherwise. Without that option or possibility, morality would not be morality. If done unconsciously or under coercion, the moral deed might have utilitarian but no moral value.

Vicegerency of God on earth means man's transformation of creation -- including above all himself -- into the patterns of God. It means obedient fulfillment of His command, which includes all values, all ethical imperatives. The highest of imperatives are the moral. Since man alone is capable of moral action, only he can carry the "divine trust" from which "heaven and earth and mountain" shied away. Man therefore has cosmic significance. He is the only creature through whom the higher part of the divine will can be realized in space and time.

To clarify the raison d'etre of man, the Qur'an has rhetorically asked mankind: "Would you then think that We have created you in vain?" The Qur'an further praises "men of understanding" who affirm: "0 God! Certainly You have not created all this [creation] in vain!" As to the deniers of such a purpose for creation, the Qur'an turns to an assertive, even offensive tone. "Indeed We have not created heaven and earth and all that is between in vain. That is the presumption of unbelievers. Woe and Fire to them." As to the content of the divine purpose, the Qur'an asserts: "And I have not created men and jinn except to worship/serve Me." The verb Ôabada means worship as well as serve. It has been used in this double sense in all Semitic languages. In the Qur'an, it is given further elaboration by the more specific answers given to the same questions of why creation? Why man? "It is He Who created heaven and earth ... that you [mankind] may prove yourselves in His eye the worthier in conduct." "And it is He Who made you His vicegerents on earth ... so that you may prove yourselves worthy of all that He has bestowed upon you."

In order to enable man to fulfill his raison d'etre, God has created him capable, and "in the best of forms." He has given him all the equipment necessary to achieve fulfillment of the divine imperatives. Above all, "God, Who created everything perfect, ... created man out of earth ... and perfected and breathed into him of His own spirit." He has bestowed upon him "his hearing, his sight, and his heart [the cognitive faculties]." Above all, God has given man his mind, his reason, and understanding, with which to discover and use the world in which he lives. He has made the earth and all that is in it -- indeed, the whole of creation including the human self -- malleable, that is, capable of change and of transformation by man's action, of engineering designed to fulfill man's purposes.

In religious language, God has made nature "subservient" to man. He has granted mankind "lordship" over nature. This is also the meaning of man's khilafah or vicegerency of God in the world. The Qur'an is quite emphatic in this regard: "God has made the ships [the winds which drive them] subject to you. ... And the rivers ... the sun and moon, day and night." "He has made the seas subservient to you ... camels and cattle ... all that is on earth and in heaven." God has planted man on earth precisely to "reconstruct and use it as a usufruct" and to this purpose made him "lord of the earth." In order to make this engineering of nature and its usufruct possible, God has imbedded in it His sunan or patterns," the so-callcd laws of nature which we know to be permanent and immutable solely through our faith that He is not a malicious but a beneficent God. Reading God's patterns in nature or creation is equally possible in psychic or social nature, thus opening nearly all areas of creation to human observation and cognition, as well as a fair portion of the divine purpose or will.

Besides all this, God has revealed His will through the prophets directly and immediately, and commanded them to proclaim it to their peoples in their own tongues. He has sent the Prophet Muhammad with a final version which he convenanted to guard against tampering and corruption, and which has been preserved intact, along with Arabic grammar and syntax, lexicography, etymology, and philology all the linguistic apparatus required to understand it exactly as it was revealed. Certainly this was a gratuitous gesture, an act of pure charity and mercy, on the part of the benevolent God. Its purpose is to make man's knowledge and fulfillment of the divine will easier and more accessible.

Every human being, Islam affirms, stands to benefit from these divine dispensations. The road to felicity is a free and open highway that anyone may tread of his own accord. Everybody is innately endowed with all these rights and privileges. God has granted them to all without discrimination. "Nature," "the earth," "the heavens" -- all belong to each and every human.

Indeed, God has done all this and even more! He has implanted His own religion into every human at birth. The true religion is innate, a religio naturalis, with which all humans are equipped. dazzling religious of mankind stands an innate religion inseparable from human nature. This is the primordial religion, the Ur-Religion, the one and only true religion. Everyone possesses it unless acculturation and indoctrination, misguidance, corruption, or dissuasion has taught him otherwise. All men, therefore, possess a faculty, a "sixth sense," a sensus communis with which they can perceive God as God. Rudolph Otto called it "the sense of the numinous," and phenomenologists of religion have recognized it as the faculty that perceives the religious as "religious," as "sacred," autonomous and sui generis, without reductionism.

Finally, Islam entertains no idea of "the fall of man," no concept of "original sin." It holds no man to stand in an innate, necessary predicament out of which he cannot pull himself. Man, it holds, is innocent. He is bonn with his innocence. Indeed, he is born with a thousand perfections, with faculties of understanding and an innate sense with which to know God. In this all men are equal, since it follows from their very existence, from their creatureliness. This is the basis for Islamic universalism.

Concerning morality and piety, man's career on earth, Islam countenances no distinction among humans, no division of them into races or nations, castes or classes. All men, it holds, "issued from a single pair," their division into peoples and tribes being a convention designed for mutual acquaintance.47 Nobler among you," the Qur'an asserts, "is only the more righteous."48 And the Prophet added, in his farewell sermon: "No Arab may have any distinction over a non-Arab, no white over non-white, except in righteousness."49

Islamic Meta-Religion in History

Under these precepts, whether explicitly revealed in the ipsissima verba of God or implied therein, the Prophet Muhammad worked out and proclaimed the constitution of the first Islamic state. He had barely arrived in Madina (July, 622 A.C.) when he brought together all the inhabitants of Madina and its environs and promulgated with them the Islamic state and its constitution. This event was of capital importance for the relation of Islam to the other religions, and of non-Muslims to Muslims of all times and places. Four years after the Prophet's demise in 10/632, Umar ibn al Khattab, the second caliph, ordered that the date of promulgation of this constitution was so crucial for Islam as a world movement that it should be considered the beginning of Islamic history.

The constitution was a covenant, whose guarantor was Allah, between the Prophet, the Muslims, and the Jews. It abolished the tribal system of Arabia under which the Arab defined himself and by which society was governed. Henceforth, the Arab was to be defined by Islam; his personal and social life was to be governed by Islamic law, the shari 'ah. The old tribal loyalties gave way to a new social bond that tied every Muslim to all other Muslims across tribal lines, to form the ummah. The ummah is an organic body whose constituents mutually sustain and protect one another. Their personal, reciprocal, and collective responsibilities are all defined by law. The Prophet was to be its chief political and juristic authority; and, as long as he lived, he exercised this power. After his death, his khulafa' (p1. of khalifah, "successor") exercised political authority, while juristic authority devolved exclusively upon the 'ulama' (the jurists) who had by then developed a methodology for interpretation, renewal, and expansion of the shari'ah.

A. The Jewish Ummah

Alongside this ummah of Muslims stood the ummah of the Jews. Their old tribalist loyalties to the Arab Aws and Khazraj tribes were to be supplanted by the bond of Judaism. Instead of their citizenship being a function of their clientship to this or that Arab tribe, it was hence to be a function of their Jewishness. Their life was to be structured around Jewish institutions and governed by the Torah, their revealed law. Political authority was vested in the chief rabbi who was also known as Resh Galut, while juristic authority rested with the system of rabbinic courts. Overarching both ummahs was a third organization, also called al ummah, or al dawlah al Islam iyyah (the Islamic polity, government, or "state") whose constituents were the two ummahs and whose raison d'etre was the protection of the polity, the conduct of its external affairs, and the carrying out of Islam's universal mission. The "state" could conscript the ummah of Muslims in its services, whether for peace or for war, but not the uminah of Jews. Jews, however, could volunteer their services to it if they wished. Neither the Muslim nor the Jewish ummah was free to conduct any relation with a foreign power, much less to declare war or peace with any other state or foreign nation. This remained the exclusive jurisdiction of the Islamic state.

The Jews, who entered freely into this covenant with the Prophet, and whose status the new constitution raised from tribal clients on sufferance to citizens de lure of the state, later betrayed it. The sad consequence was, first, the fining of one group, followed by the expulsion of another group found guilty of greater offense, and finally the execution of a third group that plotted with the enemy to destroy the Islamic state and the Islaff movement. Although these judgments were made by the Propi himself , or, in the case of the third group, by an arbiter agre upon by the parties concerned, the Muslims did not understa them as directed against the Jews as such, but against the gui. individuals only. Islam recognizes no vicarious guilt. Hen( when the Islamic state later expanded to include northern Arab Palestine, Jordan and Syria, Persia, and Egypt, where numero Jews lived, they were automatically treated as innocent constituents of the Jewish ummah within the Islamic state. This explains the harmony and cooperation that characterized Muslim-Jewish relations throughout the succeeding centuries.

For the first time in history since the Babylonian invasion 586 B.C., and as citizens of the Islamic state, the Jew could model his life after the Torah and do so legitimately, supported by the public laws of the state where he resided. For the first time, a non-Jewish state put its executive power at the service of a rabbinic court. For the first time, the state-institution assumed responsibility for the maintenance of Jewishness, and declared itself ready to use its power to defend the Jewishness of Jews against the enemies of Jewishness, be they Jews or non-Jews.

After centuries of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine (Christian) oppression and persecution, the Jews of the Near East, of North Africa, of Spain, and Persia, looked upon the Islamic state as liberator. Many of them readily helped its armies in th conquests and co-operated enthusiastically with the Islamic state administration. This cooperation was followed by acculturation into Arabic and Islamic culture, which produced a dazzling blossoming of Jewish arts, letters, sciences, and medicine. It brought affluence and prestige to the Jews, some of whom became ministers and advisers to the caliphs. Indeed, Judaism and its Hebrew language developed their "golden age" under the aegis of Islam Hebrew acquired its first grammar, the Torah its most highly developed jurisprudence, Hebrew letters their lyrical poetry; and Hebrew philosophy found its first Aristotelian, Musa ibn Maymun (Maimonides), whose thirteen precepts, couched in Arabic first, defined the Jewish creed and identity. Judaism developed its first mystical thinker as well, Ibn Gabirol, whose "Sufi" thought brought reconciliation and inner peace to Jews throughout Europe. Under ÔAbd al Rahman III in Cordoba, the Jewish prime minister, Hasdai ben Shapirut, managed to effect reconciliation between Christian monarchs whom even the Catholic Church could not bring together. All this was possible because of one Islamic principle on which it all rested, namely, the recognition of the Torah as revelation and of Judaism as God's religion, which the Qur'an attested and proclaimed.

B. The Christian Ummah

Shortly after the conquest of Makka by Muslim forces in 8/630, the Christians of Najran in Yeman sent a delegation of chieftains to meet the Prophet in Madinah. Their purpose was to clarify their position vis-a'-vis the Islamic state, and that of the state vis-a'-vis them. The conquest of Makka had made the Islamic state a power to reckon with in the region. The delegates were the guests of the Prophet , and he received them in his house and entertained them in his mosque. He explained Islam to them and called them to convert to his faith and cause. Some of them did and instantly became members of the Muslim ummah. Others did not. They chose to remain Christian, and to join the Islamic state as Christians. The Prophet constituted them as a Christian ummali, alongside the Jewish and Muslim ummahs, within the Islamic state. He sent with them one of his companions, Mu'adh ibn Jabal, to represent the Islamic state in their midst. They converted to Islam in the period of the second caliph (2-14 A.H. / 634-646 A.C.), but the Christian ummah in the Islamic state continued to grow by the expansion of its frontiers to the north and west. Indeed, for the greater part of a century, the majority of the citizens of the Islamic polity were Christians, enjoying respect, liberty, and a new dignity they had not enjoyed under either Christian Rome or Byzantium. Both these powers were imperialist and racist and they tyrannized their subjects as they colonized the territories of the Near East.

An objective account of the conversion of the Christians of the Near East to Islam should be required reading for all, especially for those still laboring under the Crusades-old prejudice that Islam was spread among Christians by the sword. Christians lived in peace and prospered under Islam for centuries, during which time the Islamic state saw righteous as well as tyrannic sultans and caliphs. Had it been a part of Islamic sentiment to do away with the Christian presence, it could have been done without a ripple in the world or history. But it was Islam's respect for and acknowledgment of Jesus as Prophet of God and of his Evangel (Gospel) as revelation that safeguarded that presence. The same is true of Abyssinia, a neighboring Christian state, which harbored the first Muslim emigrants from the wrath of Makka and maintained with the Islamic polity at the time of the Prophet a covenant of peace and friendship. The expansive designs of the Islamic state never included Abyssinia precisely on that account.

C. Ummah of Other Religions

Persia's incursion into Arabia had left behind it some, though very few, Arab converts to the Zoroastrian faith. A larger number of these lived in the buffer desert zone between Persia and Byzantium, and in Shatt al ÔArab, the lower region of the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates, where Arabia and Persia overlapped. Notable among the Persian Zoroastrians in Arabia was Salman al Farsi , who converted to Islam before the Hijrah and became one of the illustrious companions of the Prophet.

According to some traditions, it was the Prophet himself who, in the "Year of Delegations" (8-9/630-631), the year that saw the tribes and regions of Arabia sending delegations to Madina to pledge their fealty to the Islamic state, recognized the Zoroastrians as another urnmah within the Islamic state. Very soon afterward, the Islamic state conquered Persia and included all its millions within its citizenry. Those who converted to Islam joined the umrnah of Muslims, and the millions of others who chose to remain Zoroastrian were accorded the same privileges and duties accorded by the constitution to the Jews. The Prophet had already extended their application to the Christians eight years after the constitution was enacted. They were extended to apply to the Zoroastrians in 14/636, following the conquest of Persia by the Prophet's companions, if not sooner by the Prophet himself.

Following the conquest of India by Muhammad bin Qasim in 91/711, the Muslims faced new religions that they had never known before, Buddhism and Hinduism. Both religions co-existed in Sind and the Punjab, the regions conquered by Muslims and joined to the Islamic state. Muhammad bin Qasim sought instruction from the caliph in Damascus on how to treat Hindus and Buddhists. They appeared to worship idols, and their doctrines were at the farthest remove from Islam. Their founders were unheard of by Muslims. The caliph called a council of Ôulama and asked them to render judgment on the basis of the governor 5 report. The judgment was that as long as Hindus and Buddhists did not fight the Islamic state, as long as they paid the jizyah or tax due, they must be free to worship their gods as they please, to maintain their temples, and to determine their lives by the precepts of their faith. Thus, the same status as that of the Jews and Christians was accorded to them."

The principle governing Islam and Islamic governmental relations with other religions and their adherents had thus been established. It was implemented as the Islamic state entered into relations with those adherents, a process that took place either during the Prophet's life or very soon after it. When the shari 'ah crystallized in prescriptive form, the status, rights, and obligations of Muslim and non-Muslim citizens were already included. For fourteen centuries in many places, or less because of a later arrival of Islam or the imposition of Western law by colonial administrations, the shari Ôah successfully governed Muslim non-Muslim relations. It created a modus vivendi which enabled the non-Muslims to perpetuate themselves -- hence their continuing presence in the Muslim world -- and to achieve felicity as defined by their own faiths.

The atmosphere of the Islamic state was one replete with respect and honor to religion, piety, and virtue, unlike the tolerance of modern times in the West born out of skepticism regarding the truth of religious claims, and of cynicism and unconcern for religious values. The Islamic shari'ah is otherwise known as the millah or millet system (meaning "religious communities"), or the "Dhimmah" or Zimmi system (meaning the covenant of peace whose dhimmah or guarantor is God).

Evil rulers cannot be denied to have existed in the Muslim world any more than in any other empire. Where they existed, Muslims suffered as well as non-Muslims. Nowhere in Islamic history, however, were non-Muslims singled out for prosecution or persecution. The constitution that protected them was taken by Muslims to be God-inspired, God-protected. The Prophet had already warned: "If anyone oppresses any dhimmi, I shall be his prosecutor on the Day of Judgment. No other religion or societal system has ever regarded the religious minority in better light, integrated it into the stream of the majority with as little damage to either party, or treated it without injustice or unfairness as Islam did. Indeed, none could. Islam succeeded in a field where all other religions failed because of its unique theology, which recognized the true, one, and only religion of God to be innate in every person, the primordial base of all religions, identical with Sabianism, Judaism, and Christianity.

Evidently, far from being a national state, the Islamic polity is a world order in which numerous religious communities, national or transnational, co-exist in peace. The universal Pax Islamica recognizes the legitimacy of every religious community, and grants it the right to order its life in accordance with its own religious genius. It is superior to the United Nations because, instead of national sovereignty as the principle of membership, it has taken the principle of religious identity. Its constitution is divine law, valid for all, and may be invoked in any Muslim court by anyone, be he a simple Muslim or non-Muslim individual or the chief of the largest religious community.

Conclusion: The Critical Methodology of Islam

Let us, in conclusion, review the characteristics of meta-religion according to Islam, those characteristics that make it rational and critical.

1) Islamic meta-religion does not a priori condemn any religion. Indeed, it gives every religion the benefit of the doubt and more. Islamic meta-religion assumes that every religion is God-revealed and God-ordained, until it is historically proven beyond doubt that the constitutive elements of that religion are human made.

2) Islamic meta-religion readily links the religions of history with the divine source on the ground that there is no people or group but God had sent them a prophet to teach them the same lesson of religion, of piety and virtue.

3) Islamic meta-religion grants ready accreditation to all humans in their religious attempts to formulate and express religious truth. For it acknowledges all humans to have been born with all that is necessary to know God and His will, the moral law, so as to discriminate between good and evil.

4) Islamic meta-religion is painfully aware of human passions, prejudices, and deficiencies and of their sinister influence upon what was revealed or discovered to be primordial religion (din al fltrah) or primordial truth. Thus, it calls upon all humans, especially the ulama of each religion, to subject their religious traditions to rational, critical examination, and to discard those elements that are proven to be human additions, emendations, or falsifications. In this task of historical criticism of all the religions of history, all humans are brothers and must cooperate to establish the primordial truth underlying all the religions.

5) Islamic meta-religion honors human reason to the point of making it equivalent to revelation in the sense that neither can discard the other without imperiling itself. That is why in Islamic methodology, no contradiction, or non-correspondence with reality, can be final or ultimate. The Islamic scholar of religion is therefore ever tolerant, ever open to evidence, ever critical.

6) Islamic meta-religion is humanistic par excellence, in that it assumes all men to be innocent, not fallen or vitiated at birth, capable of discerning good and evil, free to choose according to their reason, conscience, or best knowledge, and personally, that is, individually, responsible for their own deeds.

7) Islamic meta-religion is world -- and life -- affirmative, in that it assumes creation, life, and history not to be in vain, not the work of a blind force, or of a trickster-god, but ordered to lead to value. It acknowledges the critical principle that nature is incapable by itself to produce critical self-consciousness, but man's role is to do precisely that. A trickster-god would be in foolish self-contradiction, to create man and endow him with his critical faculties.

8) Finally, Islamic meta-religion is an institution, not a mere theory, tested by fourteen centuries of continuous application, of success against tremendous odds. It alone among the religions and ideologies of the world was large enough in heart, in spirit as well as in letter, to give mankind the gift of a pluralism of laws with which to govern their lives under the aegis of its own metareligious principles and laws. It alone acknowledged such plurality of laws as religiously and politically de jure, while it called their adherents with wisdom and fair argument to consider rationally, critically, and freely why they should not unite under the banner of the one religion that is the one and only meta-religion.

Footnotes

1. On this point Muslim scholarship is unanimously in agreement. To those who are not familiar with this longstanding tradition, suffice it to warn that the situation of hermeneutical despair and confusion which exists in the case of Jewish, Christian, Buddhist and other scriptures has absolutely no parallel in Islam.
2. Qur'an 20:88, 29:46, and 42:15.
3. Qur'an 2:285.
4. Qur'an 2:140.
5. Qur'an 3:84.
6. Qur'an 3:24.
7. Qur'an 3:2-4.
8. Qur'an 5:69.
9. Qur'an 3:67 and 21:71-94
10. An analysis of ancient Near Eastern religious consciousness may be read in this author's Historical Atlas of tize Religions of tize World (New York: The Macmillan Co., 1974), pp.3-34.
11. The evidence of Tall al ÔAmarnah (Akhetaten) is the very opposite. The Egyptian colonial governors in Palestine cornmunicated with the Pharaoh not in Egyptian but in Akkadian.
12. Regarding the latter, Sabatino Moscati wrote: "In the course of establishing themselves, the new peoples thoroughly absorbed the great cultural tradition already existing. In this process of absorption, Mesopotamia seems to prevail. Like Rome in the Middle Ages, despite its political decadence, Mesopotamia celebrates the triumph of its culture (over its enemies)." The Face of the Ancient Orient (New York: Doubleday Anchor Books, 1962), p.164.
13. Leader of the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 19 A.H I 641 A.C. and late Governor
14.Qur'an 3:68. Quran 3:68
15. Qur'an 3:68. Quran 5:82.
16. Qur'an 3:63-64.
17. Qur'an 17:13-15.
18. Qur'an 35:24.
19. Qur'an 40:78 and 4:163.
20. Qur'an 16:36.
21. Qur'an 14:4.
22. Qur'an 4:164.
23. It should be added here that Islam holds its revelation to be mainly a revelation of a "what" that can become a "how" befitting any historical situation. Thus, the "how"' or prescriptive form of the law may and does change in substance as well as in application, but not its spirit, purpose, or "what." Usul al Fiqh discipline has devised and institutionalized a system to govern the process of evolution of the law.
24. Qur'an 6:124.
25. Qur'an 2:30.
26. Qur'an 33:72.
27. Qur'an 23:116.
28. Qur'an 3:191.
29. Qur'an 38:27.
30. Qur'an 51:56.
31. We have not created heaven and earth but ... for you to prove yourselves worthier in your deeds. ... All that is on earth and all the worldly ornaments we have made thereof are to the purpose of men proving themselves worthier in the deed (Quran 11:7,6:165, and 18:7).
32. Qur'an 95:4.
33. Qur'an 32:7-8.
34. Qur'an 14:32-33.
35. Qur'an 16:14, 22:36-37, 22:65, 31:20, and 45:12. 60
36. Qur'an 11:61.
37. Qur'an67:15.
38. Qur'an 30:30 and 48:23.
39. On the philosophical uncertainty of the laws of nature, see Clarence Irving Lewis, Analysis of Knowledge and Valuauon (Lasalle, IL: Open Court Publishing Co., 1946) and George Santayana, Skepticism and Animal Faith (New York: Charles Scribners & Sons, 1923). Their position, which is that of contemporary science, is epistemologically identical to that held by al Ghazali (d. 504/1111) in his controversy with the philosophers (see his Tahafrt al Falasifah or Refutation of the Philosophers, tr. by Sabih Kamali (Lahore: Pakistan Philosophical Congress, 1963).
40. Qur'an 51:21, 33:62, and 35:43.
41. Qur'an 15:9.
42. Qur'an 30:30.
43. Qur'an 3:19.
44.This is the substance of the Hadith, "Everyman is born with natural religion --i.e. as a Muslim. It is his parents that make him a Jew, a Magian, or a Christian.
45. Rudolph Otto, The idea of the Holy (New York: Oxford University Press, 1958).
46. Mircea Eliade, Patterns of Comparative Religion (London: Sheed and Ward, Ltd., undated) and The Sacred and the Profane (New York: Harper and Row, 1961).
47. Qu'ran 49:13
48. Ibid
49. Ishaq ibn Hisham, Sirat Rasul Allah (The Life of Muhammad), tr. by Alfred Guillaume (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1946) Thomas Arnold, The Preaching of Islam (London: 1906; Lahore: Muhammad Ashraf Publications, 1961). Al Kufi, Shah-Namah, tr., by H. M. Elliott in his The History of l~dia Os Told by Its Own Historians (London: 1867-77), vol 1, pp. 184-97.
50. Thomas Arnold, The Preaching of Islam (London: 1906; Lahore: Muhammad Ashraf Publications, 1961).
51. Al Kufi, Shah-Namah, tr., by H. M. Elliott in his The History of l~dia Os Told by Its Own Historians (London: 1867-77), vol 1, pp. 184-97.

Rights of Allah

Rights of Allah

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-`Uthaymeen

The Reality of Faith

The Reality of Faith

Shaykh Muhammad Salih al-Munajjid

At-Tabarani and Al-Hakim narrated that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam said, what translated means, "Iman wears out in one’s heart, just as the dress wears out (becomes thin). Therefore, ask Allah to renew iman in your hearts." Iman, therefore, becomes old and wears out just as the case clothes. In addition, sometimes, the believer’s heart becomes cloudy because of committing sins. The Prophet clearly mentioned this later case, when he said, what translated means, "Each heart has its own passing cloud, just as the moon when it is shining and there comes a cloud that replaces its brightness and darkness. Whenever it (the cloud) moves on, it (the moon) will shine yet again." [Abu Nu`am & As-Silsilah As-Sahihah]. Sometimes, a cloud overtakes the moon’s brightness and replaces it with darkness, but when this cloud moves on, the moon will become bright and shining again. This is the exact case with the believer’s heart, for sometimes a dark cloud overtakes the heart, because of indulging in sin. This dark cloud will prevent the light of Iman from filling the heart and will only go away when one strives hard to increase his Iman, depending on Allah. Then, the cloud will certainly vanish and the heart will once more regain its full health and brightness.

In the process of healing weak Iman, it is important to know that Iman increases with working the good deeds and decreases by indulging in sin, for, according to Ahlu as-Sunnnah wal Jama`ah (who following the Quran, the Sunnah and the understanding of the companions), Iman entails acknowledgement with the tongue, belief in the heart implementing the Commandments. Furthermore, Allah said, what translated means, "That they may grow more in Faith" [48:4], and "Which of you has had his faith increased?" [9:124]

Also, the Messenger of Allah said, what translated means, "He among you who witnesses an evil, let him change (stop, remove) it with his hand, if he could not, then with his tongue, and if he could not, then with his heart, and this is the weakest Iman." [Al-Bukhari] The effect of indulging in sin or performing good deeds is well-known, as Iman in the heart will be affected by experiencing either a decrease or an increase. When one goes to the marketplace and spends the time there looking at women and listening to the often unnecessary speech that people indulge in and then goes to a grave site, he will experience an immediate change in the status of Iman in his heart while he is in the graveyard as compared to when he was at the marketplace.

Some of our righteous Salaf (ancestors) said, "It is a sign of the slave’s Fiqh (knowledge of the religion) that he concerns himself with enhancing the status of his Iman when it experiences a decrease. Also, it is a sign of the slave’s Fiqh to know if his Iman is on the increase or on the decrease. Furthermore, it is a sign of one’s Fiqh that he knows why and where the evil whispers of Satan are coming from."

It is important to know that it is a turn to the worse and a dangerous precedent to let the decrease in Iman that the heart is experiencing lead to abandoning some of the obligations. Such behavior leads one to be among the criticized persons and obliges him to repent to Allah and to immediately start solving the weakness of his Iman. On the other hand, when the decrease in Iman only leads to abandoning some of the preferred acts of worship, then one must strive hard in this case to perform such preferred acts with patience and endurance until his heart regains its health. In this regard, the Messenger of Allah said, what translated means, "With regards to each act of worship, there is a period of increased activity, and after each period of increased activity, there is a period of decreased activity (that follows it). Therefore, if one settles down to that which is a part of my Sunnah, he will be the successful one. As for he who settles down to the opposite, then he is destroyed." [Ahmad and Sahih at-Targhib].

Before we start detailing the manner with which one can cure weak Iman, we should mention that many of those who experience hardness in their hearts search for external cures for this problem. However, such people can solve their weak Iman by themselves, for Iman is a personal matter between the slave and the Lord. Now, we will detail some of the cures for weak Iman that will erase hardness in the heart and will help regain strong Iman, Allah willing.

The Great Issue of Tawhid (Simplicity of the Islamic Creed)

The Great Issue of Tawhid (Simplicity of the Islamic Creed)

Shaykh Salman al-`Awdah

Certainly the question of Tawhid and the singling out of Allah Almighty in worship is the great issue, the self-evident truth to which the Prophets called. They centered all their efforts on this premise; they fought for it and made peace for it. They suffered for its sake and dedicated their hours, night and day for its sake. Pure monotheism was their preoccupation and their practice in secret and in public.

It is a simple and clear matter, far removed from complications and problems and hence everyone is able to understand it, regardless of whether he is a scholar or an illiterate. The Arab among his herds understands it as well as the philosopher among his books. The scientist in his laboratory understands it as well as the peasant in the field. This is because it is the truth with which all the Prophets were sent to all classes of society and was never intended for the intelligent and educated only. Likewise it was not for those in authority or the rich. Indeed it is for all mankind. And this is a part of the simplicity of this religion which the Prophet, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam, described; as transmitted from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah and related by al-Bukhari: "Verily this religion is uncomplicated." Part of its ease is the simplicity of its creed. Hence it is possible to explain the tenets of faith to any person in about ten minutes and he will go away having understood and digested it with the greatest ease.

On the other hand, when one examines the creed of the misguided Christians, one encounters in it complications and obscurities that make the most intelligent and ingenious dispute it and be puzzled by it, let alone the ordinary and common folk. As a result they submit to whatever they are told by their priests and they ascribe to their religion secrets which should not be discussed. Thus they believe and they remain blindfolded.

When we examine the various schools of philosophy we find that even many educated people are incapable of understanding the existentialist thought as an example, let alone to become convinced of its assumptions. The Islamic monotheistic creed is by contrast clear and simple. There is no God save Allah presupposes that the believer should turn towards Allah with his heart, his limbs, and all his deeds. That he should abandon all idols, gods, and transgressors which the polytheists take as gods and worship instead of Allah.