Attaining Wisdom

A human being cannot move forward one step consequentially without knowledge... Hence, acquisition of knowledge to the maximum of one's ability and availability of opportunity stands forth as the fundamental human obligation, and this is what the Holy Qur'an has taught. (3:190-191).

Acts Of Worship In The Qur'an

The Holy Qur'an makes the pursuit of physical science, --indeed, of all knowledge, and the active struggle for the spiritual and moral emancipation of humanity, and the establishment of social, economic and political justice all acts of worship...Therefore, identifying morals by reading this book is an act of worship.

Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and day are signs for those of understanding. (3:190)

Who remember Allah while standing or sitting or (lying) on their sides and give thought to the creation of the heavens and the earth, [saying] "Our Lord, You did not create this aimlessly, exalted are You [above such a thing]; then protect us from the punishment of the Fire. (3:191)

What Is Allah?

The Aramaic word for "God" in the language of Assyrian Christians is ʼĔlāhā, or Alaha. Arabic speakers of all Abrahamic faiths, including Christians and Jews, use the word "Allah" to mean "God". The Christian Arabs of today have no other word for "God" than "Allah". Many persons have an immediate discrimination against a word formally used by renowned Messengers and Prophets when mentioning the name of the Creator, we must attempt to realize that "Allah" is actually something common within the community of the Believers, a common denominator of the past and today which has been made obscure and controversial for no other benefit than the division of the believers as a whole.

Unbiased persons of any faith will discover and recognize Allah as none other than his El, Eli, Alle, Elah, Alah, Allah. Call upon Him by any name, for His are the Most Beautiful names, as long as those names are not contaminated and as long as they do not conjure up in our minds the images of men or any creation of the Creator.

Logical Approach To Universal Discourse

"Say O People of the Book! Come to common terms as between us and you: That we shall worship none but the One True God: that we shall associate no equals with Him; that we shall take not, from among ourselves, lords and patrons other than God..." (3:64).

The formula of cooperation and fellowship for the promotion of good and the eradication of evil that is contained in this verse is: Commitment of absolute and undivided loyalty and devotion to God and the acceptance of the principle of total elimination of exploitation of man by man.

Everyone Is Religious To Something

What are you 'bound' to?

Any system of thought which may 'bind' anyone to any specific view of life, together with its emotional and ethical implications, is religion, because the very word 'religion' stands etymologically for the idea of being 'bound' or 'linked' to something.

Concept Of God: Monotheistic

The Islamic deity is not merely 'god' (ilah) but 'the God' (Allah). He is not merely an object of ritualistic worship, but the Possessor of all the dimensions of highest excellence, indeed, of absolute perfection. He is the Fountainhead of all values and ideals. He is the Omnipotent, the Omniscient, the Omnipresent, the Infinite, the Absolute, the One and the Indivisible God, Who neither incarnates nor has any partner or son or compeer.

He is Transcendent in His Being and Immanent in the cosmos through His love, knowledge and power. He is the Creator, the Sustainer, the Nourisher and the Evolver of everything that constitutes the cosmos, equally. He is the Righteous God Who bestows no special favour on any individual or community on the basis of such distinctions as those of race or colour, even in respect of mere formal labels of 'creed'.

Mission Of Islam

Establishment of all that is good for human beings and eradication of all that is evil, on the basis of godliness and unity of humankind.

The Mission Of The Holy Qur'an

The mission of the Holy Qur'an is to transform the life of this world with all its dimensions into a life of the 'worship of One God' by channelizing it into a 'system of obedience to One God' (Al-Islam). If One God is not worshipped a division of loyalty occurs breeding conflicts, and conflicts breed perversions, and perversions breed neurosis and split-personalities and un-balanced social life accordingly.

The Qur'an As The Basis For Moral Definitions

It is the Criterion which distinguishes clearly the right from the wrong, the good from the evil, the true from the false (2:185). It is the Guide for all humanity (2:185), which imparts detailed and comprehensive guidance in all matters wherein human reason can possibly fail in any measure and in any manner (6:114, 16:89). And, imparting new knowledge as it does (2:151). It emphasizes that all unbiased persons dedicated to knowledge are bound to uphold its truth at the time of its revelation (34:6). And to attest it, in later ages, as the horizons of human knowledge expand further and further (41:53).

Using Attributes To Better Ones Character

The Believers ideal is to reflect the Divine Attributes in the mirror of his personality, thereby fulfilling his destiny. His outlook is positive and optimistic, and is grounded in the concept of 'affirmation of personality'.

Why Practice Good Attributes?

The function of Islamic religious quest is spiritual and moral integration and development of the 'self' through self-purification, ultimately for reforming the society.

The Qur'anic system of guidance, or, Islam, is grounded in religious approach. It is basically religion par excellence, in the broader sense as well as in the narrower, or, strict, sense namely, as implying 'belief in a higher unseen controlling power, with the emotion and morality connected with it'.

Qur'anic Integration And Practice

Qur'anic guidance through practice covers benefits both the individual and humanity collectively. On the individual level, the spiritual, the moral, the intellectual, the aesthetical and the physical dimensions of human personality, and, on the collective level, the social, the economic, the political infact, all the dimensions of society creating thus a theo-centric individual, a theo-centric social order, a theo-centric culture and a theo-centric civilization.

When Religion Is Not The Principal Reference In All Practical Manners

Spiritual considerations recede into the background, or stay merely ritualistically, and religion becomes imbecile in respect of the practical affairs of human life. As a consequence, the representatives of religion either become the tools of the secular exploiting forces as has happened in a very large measure in human history, or have to engage themselves in a never-ending conflict with them.

Islamic Practice/Programme

Constant spiritual, moral and intellectual struggle (defined: Jihad) for the fulfillment of the above mission in terms of (i) conquest of the lower self by the higher self; (ii) conquest of evil by good in respect of social order; (iii) conquest of nature for the realization of 'Vicegerency of God'.

Belief in the 'Hereafter' or 'Afterlife' relates to the following basic Qur'anic concepts: (a) God is the moral Sovereign of the cosmos; (b) the Cosmos is a moral order; (c) man has to function on the earth as a moral being with a spiritual base; (d) he has to submit his credentials to the moral Sovereign, Who is actually the over-all Sovereign, in order to pass to higher level of existence; (e) hence, he has to face final accountability on the day of Judgment,

Which will occur when the 'heavens and the earth' have passed through the portals of 'death' into new dimension of existence. (14:48)

Goal Of Religion

The Goal of Religion is the fulfillment of human destiny which every individual is under obligation to realize in the measure of his personal capability only, towards his potential as 'vicegerent of God' which has been bestowed on humanity as a whole by its Creator (2:30)

Uniting As One Humanity = Unity In Society

The distinctions of the clergy and the laity, of the wealthy and the poor, of the superior caste and the inferior caste, and of the superior race and the inferior race (based on the inhuman dogmas of the 'chosen people' or of the supremacy of one colour of human skin over another), have plagued the life of human communities and that not only among those who have believed in the plurality of gods, like the Hindus, but also among those who been the so-called upholders of Monotheism , like the Jews and the Christians.

Negatively, through the abolition of the institution of priesthood, and positively through the creation of a classless, casteless and non-racial society, the Holy Qur'an has sounded the death kneel to all such evil distinctions. It has envisaged a society dedicated to godliness, and it has laid down a value-system wherein the only criteria of superiority are greater spiritual refinement, moral goodness and knowledge. This value-system reduces all the conflicting material distinctions into unity.

Lack Of Human Fellowship = Denial Of Religion

Chapter 107 Al Ma'un / Small Kindnesses emphasizes that lack of the spirit of human fellowship constitutes the very denial of religion and Divine Judgment.

Ideal Human Nature

To achieve an Ideal Human Nature constant exercise is required in respect to:

1. acquisition of control by the higher self over the lower (or, the animal) self which always forms the greatest obstacle in connection with the pursuit of all idealistic yearnings: spiritual, moral, intellectual, social and aesthetic, in order to build up human nature;

2. understanding human personality, human nature and human history, for the sake of pursuit of harmony in terms of human society;

3. effort for service to, and reform of, the society for the practical establishment of harmony in the social order;

4. subjugation of nature through the power of knowledge, in order to bring the natural environment into harmony with ideal human aspirations;

5. submission to God, Who is the Basis of all existence, the Source of all Excellence, and the Fountainhead of all Values, thereby to establish harmony with Him which harmony alone bestows fundamentally the capability to achieve the human destiny in the true sense.

Knowledge Of Morals Is A Prerequisite

Standpoint for Religious Quest (Quest for God)

The Qur'anic standpoint is ethico-religious, as opposed to magical, mystical, ritualistic and legalistic standpoints given by other systems.

Subjectively, it relates to spiritual and moral transformation of the individual (91:9);

Objectively, it is grounded in love for God manifesting itself in love for fellow beings. (2:177)

Who Is A Successful Believer?

One who eradicated the positive and the negative evils that obstruct or keep in suspension the development of human personality in the spiritual dimension, and consequently in the moral dimension, -thereby ensuring healthy spiritual growth under the impact of Islam (full submission to Gods will and commands).

Rationally Oriented Faith Through Development

With reference to the human personality, the Holy Qur'an emphasizes its organic wholeness. The human being is a unitary being, with the soul, the mind and the body and their different dimensions of existence and behaviour, forming an integrated organic whole a unity. The Qur'anic view gives rise to the Qur'anic ideal of integration, wherein all the dimensions of human personality: the physical, the moral, the rational, the aesthetical and the spiritual, have to be developed comprehensively and harmoniously in order to achieve the Divine purpose with regard to human destiny.

Consistently Practising Good Morals

The ethico-religious good -as also other forms of good -consists in conformity to measure, or, maintaining the balance (55:7,8), deviation from the measure towards any extreme being evil, the commission of which is 'sin' in Islamic terminology.

Moral Boosting

Belief in Resurrection after death:

(a) Lifts up the human vision beyond earthly existence and thus crushes the attitude of earth-rootedness which is the mother of all moral ills;

(b) bestows on human values absoluteness, as opposed to expediency, and renders the moral struggle worth-while, meaningful, and genuinely consequential;

(c) hence, provides the enthusiasm for moral struggle, in the face of all obstructions and frustrating situations;

(d) Supplies the basis for the consummation of the reward of moral struggle;