"We are from Him and towards Him is our journeying."
Quran 2:156
Quran 2:156
"Islam" literally translated means peace. It comes from the root-word s-l-m from which there are derivatives such as "salaam", "saleem", "islam" etc. All these words commonly mean peace, security and soundness. Therefore the primary meaning of the term "Islam" is peace, and in the secondary sense surrender.
In the Holy Quran, Allah says, Surah 5, Al-Maida, Verse 3: Al yawma akmaltu lakum dinakum wa atmamtu alaykum ni'mati wa radaitu lakumul Islama dinan. Translated: This day have I [Allah] perfected your religion for you and completed my favour unto you, and have chosen for you as religion Al-Islam.
The term used for defining belief, used in the Quran is "deen". It is not "madzhab". "Deen" is an Arabic word which is translated to mean a way of belief. "Madzhab" is a word which is translated to mean a sect, particular creed and religious doctrine. In Surah 6, Al-Anaam, Verse 159, Allah says : Innallazina farraqu dinahum wa kaanu shiyya'l lasta minhum fi shayyan innama amruhum ilallahi thumma yunabbiuhumu bima kaanu yafa'alun.
Translated : Lo! As for those who sunder their "deen" and become schismatics, no concern at all hast thou with them. Their case will go to Allah, Who then will tell them what they used to do.
The word "deen" which stands for belief, has an interesting analogue in the Arabic language which is written similarly but pronounced differently as "dayn" which means debt or liability. It proves to be an intriguing comparison when one notes the close association of the two words. The "deen" of belief is like the "dayn" of liability when we see clearly as to what we owe to the Supreme Being or the very Existence of Reality i.e Allah. Our belief is therefore a debt we are liable to return or rather a natural offering of our existence to the Source of our being. Mystically understood it would be the return of ourselves to the Reality of Being which is Allah. This "deen" as made clear to us and defined for us is "Islam". Islam means to enter the state of total peace by complete surrender of one's will and being to Allah. This surrender is called the "deen-i-fitrah", or the way of belief that is closest to the nature of man. In other words surrender before Allah is the natural state of being. When man begins to assert his/her selfhood before the Supreme Self and stands in the way of His Will, that is when he/she enters into an unnatural state of existence which becomes the source of unrest, discord and disharmony. It is inevitable for the positive to prevail over the negative, for instance, darkness to vanish at the appearance of Light and the presence of darkness being only an absence of light and therefore not a valid existent. In the same way "kufr" which literally means to hide something and when used in the sense of the opposite of belief means the covering up of true belief, automatically disappears when belief in the true faith of Reality [Allah] takes root. Therefore the Quran says about the religion of Allah, "Truth has come and falsehood hath vanished".
The perfect way of belief is "Islam" the religion of surrendering ones purpose to God. It is a deen which should not be broken up into sects. It is a way of belief that the entire human kingdom is called upon to follow. What prevent man from coming into the fold of this universal belief system are the egoistic attachments that compel him/her to stick to their personal preferences over the Divine Preference.
The Era of Islam which is the last era for humanity is the one marked by the concept of "Tawheed". Tawheed is the concept of unity upon which the religion of Islam hinges. Allah is One and His creation is One beyond all the apparent differences and diversity. Islam teaches us the values and the ethics that develop the sensitivity of intellect to realize that unity in truth. Muslims are to "live" that unity and not merely proclaim it.
The family tree of the human race goes back to the One Source. Allah says in the Quran that after the completion of Adam's creation from clay, Allah breathed into him of His Spirit and that is how man came to be. "Min Ruhihi", of My Spirit and therefore we became related or linked to the Source of our creation. We are not Him and yet we are not separate from Him. In Sufism we learn the concept of ‘Huwa/La Huwa" from the detailed expositions of mystical philosophy by masters such as Ibn al Arabi. "Huwa/La Huwa" means He/Not He. The great master says that the whole of creation balances on the words ‘Huwa/La Huwa". In our distance from Him and in His transcendence we are far removed from Him. By virtue of "min ruhihi" and having been created in "His Image" we reflect His Being. The "dayn" or debt that we owe Allah is to surrender that part of His back to Him. The Quran testifies to the ultimate human victory as being the successful purification of the soul. The soul or "nafs" that has been purified of the confusion and erroneous belief stemming from the apparent multiplicity has attained eternal felicity. This is Islam, when we have paid our debt to Allah in the form of unconditional surrender.
No man has supremacy over another except in degrees of piety. No schism or sect has precedence over another except for the Surrender of the human soul, heart and consciousness to their Creator.
For how long will we kill each other, hate each other and do all this in the name of religion? We need to wake up and heed the message of "Islam" which was delivered over fourteen centuries ago but still lies at the threshold of the human heart and consciousness waiting to be fully embraced.
No man is the judge of another. Judgment is for Allah alone. Allah says there is no compulsion in belief for the right way is manifest from the false one. He also says that we who believe should embody the proclamation of this message of Truth in our actions and behaviour but we should not worry about others conforming to it. Belief and disbelief are matters for Allah to settle with man/woman and not for man to settle with man. To the Holy Prophet a.s Allah says in The Holy Quran that your work is to only deliver the message and belief in it by others is a matter between Me and them.
We as Allah's vicars should do only that with which we have been charged and not try and take on the role of Allah Himself. [We seek Allah's Shelter against all types of false beliefs]
O' Allah You are the Supreme Truth and the All-Knowing. We humbly submit ourselves to you so that we receive from Your Grace of Bestowal only that which will make us worthy to stand before you. Make us perfect in Knowledge from a Knowledge that is complete, coming from You directly and entering into our hearts like lightning in the flash of which all that remained hidden and obscure becomes absolutely clear. Amen.
May Allah's most perfect and complete blessings reach the Holy presence of our beloved Prophet Muhammad a.s.
Naila Amat-un-Nur
Islam: The Deen-e-Fitrah, A Universal Perspective
The Real Nature of Shariah
What is Zikr?
The term used for defining belief, used in the Quran is "deen". It is not "madzhab". "Deen" is an Arabic word which is translated to mean a way of belief. "Madzhab" is a word which is translated to mean a sect, particular creed and religious doctrine. In Surah 6, Al-Anaam, Verse 159, Allah says : Innallazina farraqu dinahum wa kaanu shiyya'l lasta minhum fi shayyan innama amruhum ilallahi thumma yunabbiuhumu bima kaanu yafa'alun.
Translated : Lo! As for those who sunder their "deen" and become schismatics, no concern at all hast thou with them. Their case will go to Allah, Who then will tell them what they used to do.
The word "deen" which stands for belief, has an interesting analogue in the Arabic language which is written similarly but pronounced differently as "dayn" which means debt or liability. It proves to be an intriguing comparison when one notes the close association of the two words. The "deen" of belief is like the "dayn" of liability when we see clearly as to what we owe to the Supreme Being or the very Existence of Reality i.e Allah. Our belief is therefore a debt we are liable to return or rather a natural offering of our existence to the Source of our being. Mystically understood it would be the return of ourselves to the Reality of Being which is Allah. This "deen" as made clear to us and defined for us is "Islam". Islam means to enter the state of total peace by complete surrender of one's will and being to Allah. This surrender is called the "deen-i-fitrah", or the way of belief that is closest to the nature of man. In other words surrender before Allah is the natural state of being. When man begins to assert his/her selfhood before the Supreme Self and stands in the way of His Will, that is when he/she enters into an unnatural state of existence which becomes the source of unrest, discord and disharmony. It is inevitable for the positive to prevail over the negative, for instance, darkness to vanish at the appearance of Light and the presence of darkness being only an absence of light and therefore not a valid existent. In the same way "kufr" which literally means to hide something and when used in the sense of the opposite of belief means the covering up of true belief, automatically disappears when belief in the true faith of Reality [Allah] takes root. Therefore the Quran says about the religion of Allah, "Truth has come and falsehood hath vanished".
The perfect way of belief is "Islam" the religion of surrendering ones purpose to God. It is a deen which should not be broken up into sects. It is a way of belief that the entire human kingdom is called upon to follow. What prevent man from coming into the fold of this universal belief system are the egoistic attachments that compel him/her to stick to their personal preferences over the Divine Preference.
The Era of Islam which is the last era for humanity is the one marked by the concept of "Tawheed". Tawheed is the concept of unity upon which the religion of Islam hinges. Allah is One and His creation is One beyond all the apparent differences and diversity. Islam teaches us the values and the ethics that develop the sensitivity of intellect to realize that unity in truth. Muslims are to "live" that unity and not merely proclaim it.
The family tree of the human race goes back to the One Source. Allah says in the Quran that after the completion of Adam's creation from clay, Allah breathed into him of His Spirit and that is how man came to be. "Min Ruhihi", of My Spirit and therefore we became related or linked to the Source of our creation. We are not Him and yet we are not separate from Him. In Sufism we learn the concept of ‘Huwa/La Huwa" from the detailed expositions of mystical philosophy by masters such as Ibn al Arabi. "Huwa/La Huwa" means He/Not He. The great master says that the whole of creation balances on the words ‘Huwa/La Huwa". In our distance from Him and in His transcendence we are far removed from Him. By virtue of "min ruhihi" and having been created in "His Image" we reflect His Being. The "dayn" or debt that we owe Allah is to surrender that part of His back to Him. The Quran testifies to the ultimate human victory as being the successful purification of the soul. The soul or "nafs" that has been purified of the confusion and erroneous belief stemming from the apparent multiplicity has attained eternal felicity. This is Islam, when we have paid our debt to Allah in the form of unconditional surrender.
No man has supremacy over another except in degrees of piety. No schism or sect has precedence over another except for the Surrender of the human soul, heart and consciousness to their Creator.
For how long will we kill each other, hate each other and do all this in the name of religion? We need to wake up and heed the message of "Islam" which was delivered over fourteen centuries ago but still lies at the threshold of the human heart and consciousness waiting to be fully embraced.
No man is the judge of another. Judgment is for Allah alone. Allah says there is no compulsion in belief for the right way is manifest from the false one. He also says that we who believe should embody the proclamation of this message of Truth in our actions and behaviour but we should not worry about others conforming to it. Belief and disbelief are matters for Allah to settle with man/woman and not for man to settle with man. To the Holy Prophet a.s Allah says in The Holy Quran that your work is to only deliver the message and belief in it by others is a matter between Me and them.
We as Allah's vicars should do only that with which we have been charged and not try and take on the role of Allah Himself. [We seek Allah's Shelter against all types of false beliefs]
O' Allah You are the Supreme Truth and the All-Knowing. We humbly submit ourselves to you so that we receive from Your Grace of Bestowal only that which will make us worthy to stand before you. Make us perfect in Knowledge from a Knowledge that is complete, coming from You directly and entering into our hearts like lightning in the flash of which all that remained hidden and obscure becomes absolutely clear. Amen.
May Allah's most perfect and complete blessings reach the Holy presence of our beloved Prophet Muhammad a.s.
Naila Amat-un-Nur
Islam: The Deen-e-Fitrah, A Universal Perspective
The Real Nature of Shariah
What is Zikr?