Role of the Quran as the Book of Guidance

8/16/2019 Role of the Quran as the Book of Guidance

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ROLE OF THE QURAN AS THE BOOK OF GUIDANCE

to obliterate all anthropomorphic notions about God and to establish perfect Monotheism—not

merely as a theological concept but as a full-fledged philosophy of life;

to inculcate the establishment and maintenance of a living and dynamic relation with God in order

that human beings may attain the highest spiritual and moral refinement and greatness;

to teach the truth that human beings are basically theomorphic beings—emphasizing the ‘ascent of

Man to God’ as opposed to the ‘descent of God in Man’,—and that the goal of every human being is

the actualization of his or her potential vicegerency of God through the imitation of ivine !ttributes;

to give to "oman her rightful place in #ociety, as basically the e$ual of Man;

to resolve the dichotomy; of %aith and &eason; of &eligion and #cience of 'ove and 'aw of (eauty

and #implicity of )articipation in godliness and )articipation in worldly life to establish in the

domain of the philosophy of &eligion, the positive concept of Fulfillment in place of the universally prevalent negative concept of Salvation;

to e*tricate &eligion from superstitions;

to distinguish #pirituality from Mysticism and )sychicism;

to give a comprehensive )hilosophy of +ntegration, based on the teaching of nity-ism, thereby

providing sure basis for the integration of the life of the +ndividual as well as of #ociety; and, beyond

that, of umanity at large;

to create an +ntegralistic .ulture and an +ntegralistic .ivilisation;

to ma/e Morality the basis for #piritual evelopment, on the one hand, and for #ocial 0volution, onthe other;

to inaugurate the era of #cientific !dvancement by means of teaching the re$uisite fundamental

principles;

to highlight the role of +nductive &easoning as the proper instrument for the pursuit of 1nowledge;

to emphasize the $uest for 0mpirical 1nowledge, as well as the resultant 2echnological !dvancement

and .on$uest of 3ature, as 0*ercise in the "orship of God;

to bestow on &eligion the role of functioning as #ocial !lchemy for the establishment of a 2otal

"elfare #ociety;

to harmonize 2ruth and 4ustice with 'ove and Mercy;

to ma/e #ocial 4ustice the very foundation for healthy collective life;


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to establish the concept of "ealth for "elfare;

to eradicate )overty, isease and human #uffering in general;

to crown 'abour with ignity;

to proclaim the principle that value lies in 'abour, )roductivity and !chievement;

to provide the Golden Mean between the e*tremist philosophies of Monopoly .apitalism and

.ommunism;

to open the avenues and provide Guidance for human progress in all healthy directions in general;

to close the doors on all those perversions in religious and non-religious thought which go to ma/e

&eligion an opiate and the #ecularistic )hilosophies atheistic and immoral; and

to confer on umanity many other (lessings, besides5

For that, the Qur’ân gave:

a well-co ordinated #ystem of (elief,

a fully-integrated )hilosophy, and

a comprehensive .ode of )ractice5

THE HOLY ROHET!S SUNNAH " Role# Definition an$ %e&tain Fa%et' t(e&eof

2he 6ur’an has laid fundamental emphasis on the importance of imitation of the oly )rophet’s Sunnahas a vital factor in the practice of +slam, because it begins in accepting him as the sole human Guide, in

the post-6ur’anic period, in respect of ivine Guidance, and it develops in imitating him more and more

as the )erfect )ractical Model thereof5 2he $uestion, therefore, emerges7 "hat does the Sunnah stand for8"e may concisely answer this $uestion by saying that the oly )rophet’s Sunnah stands for the dynamicmanifestations of the ethico-religious dimensions of his personality5 9r7 'oo/ing at it in the perspective of

the 6ur’an, we may define it by saying that it is the realization by him of the 6ur’anic value-system in

the different dimensions of his personality;

+f the implications of the Sunnah are understood properly by a Muslim, it saves him from indulgence inbid‘ah, on the one hand, and inspires him with intense fervour for realizing in his personality, to hisutmost capacity, the ethico-religious +dealism pro:ected by the 6ur’an5

2he present is not the occasion to pro:ect the oly )rophet’s Sunnah in detail, because it relates to a personality that has been the richest, the most profound, and the most perfect in history5 "e may,

however, mention here :ust a few facets selected off-hand,—only to provide a basic idea5 2hey are7

5 tmost devotion to God;


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=5 Maintaining highest fortitude, with a cheerful countenance and a never-failing smile, even in the most

trying and terrifying circumstances;

>5 Gentleness and considerateness in dealing with others;

?5 %orgiveness—and love—for the worst enemies;

@5 )ractice of Mercy in all situations,—the con$uest of Ma//a demonstrating it at its clima*;

A5 tmost generosity;

B5 tmost sacrifice for the welfare of others7 feeding others, while himself remaining hungry, clothing

others, while himself wearing coarse garments patched time and again; not /eeping any wealth with him,

in cash or /ind, but distributing it to the needy before sunset every day;

C5 0*treme humility together with full dignity;

D5 ighest rational tolerance;

5 Good-will for all and ill-will towards none;

5 +mmaculate cleanliness in respect of the body, the dress and the environment; and

?5 )ractice of truthfulness, honesty, fidelity and self-control at their highest5

+t is heart-rending to observe that the very notion of the obligatoriness of imitating the real Sunnah— which has been fundamentally pro:ected above—has progressively departed from the Muslims; whilelove for e*ternalistic formalities in the name of the Sunnah, and that too with much fuss as to4uristic hairsplitting, has increasingly ta/en its place among the so-called orthodo* pursuers of religiosity;

—all that resulting in the creation of large numbers of +slamically unbalanced religious personalities5

THE QUR!)NIC *IE+ OF THE INDI*IDUAL AND THESOCIETY

2he mission of the 6ur’an in respect of both the +ndividual and the #ociety is vehemently +ntegralistic—

the principle of +ntegralism being grounded in the concept of Unit, (tawÍÊd), and e*pressing itself in the balanced and harmonious realization of the basic values of iet,# T&ut(# -u'ti%e# +i'$om# Love# Beaut,an$ Selfle''ne''.

2he +deational religious approach to human life may either be7 EF ritualistic, or E


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to both of those approaches, the 6ur’anic approach is +ntegralistic, i.e., directed to the build-up of anintegrated life, which is fundamentally ethico-religious in character5 ‘%undamentally ethico-religious’

means that the 6ur’an has emphasized the simultaneous pursuit of both &eligion and Morality5 +ndeed,

religiosity without regard for the moral refinement and development emerges in the 6ur’anic view as

nothing less than an opiate, because the very concept of ‘godliness’ loses all meaning without the active pursuit of the highest Morality5

2he mission of a Muslim is7 2o build up his own personality, his social environment, and the world in

general, as good; and, for that purpose, to e$uip himself to possible heights of perfection in respect of,

and to cooperate with others in the pursuit of, all healthy and constructive human activities5 2he e*ternal

ma/e-up of an +slamic personality is fundamentally grounded in natural grace, because the 6ur’an has

ordained no sophistications5

&eligious persons of a particular type feel that they should attach practically all importance to the 'aw of

Grace, and much less or no importance to the 3atural 'aw5 3o doubt, both of those 'aws are operative,

under the ivine )lan, in the universe and in the lives of human beings5 (ut, the oly 6ur’an demands

that a Muslim should function in life with as much regard for the 3atural 'aw as the wisest Materialist,

because God imself has made the function of the 3atural 'aw as fundamental, and that of the 'aw of

Grace as supererogatory5

2he adoption of the atheistic mechanistic view of the universe and Man is advocated by its adherents as

the only and necessary condition for #cientific progress5 2hat is, however, fallacious; because the6ur’anic concept of the ‘&eign of 'aw’ also ensures it in the same measure, and without damage to the

spiritual and moral values5

2he 6ur’an rules out the e*ploitation of man by man in all forms, whether in the social sphere in respect

of the economic and the political matters, or in the sphere of &eligion in respect of certain so-called

religious practices whereby superstitions are traded in as a commodity5 #imilarly, it is firmly opposed to

all forms of tyranny5

"ealthy-ness has been very often wedded to wic/edness, and the oly 6ur’an has condemned it in that perspective time and again5 ence, while +slam permits private enterprise in business and industry, its

permission is not un$ualified5 (ecause, it permits only controlled freedom in respect of both earning and

spending one’s wealth, whereby the emergence of both Monopoly .apitalism and its child, the lu*urious

and aristocratic living, are ruled out, and the possessors of surplus wealth are stopped from adopting the

cult of indulgence in ‘wealth, wine, and woman’, while the +slamic society as a whole shoulders the

responsibility of the provision of basic needs of life to all with dignity5

"e may sum up the 6ur’anic standpoint in respect of Muslim society by saying in negative terms that,

with all the practice of religious rituals, the Muslim society loses a vital part of its +slamic character if7

5 any form of e*ploitation and tyranny is practised, and economic and political :ustice is not

comprehensively enforced;


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URSUIT AND NON/ASCETIC CHARACTER OF SIRITUALITY

2he 6ur’anic ethico-religious approach does not lead to mysticism, but to what might be termed as

D,nami% u&i'm based on Øidq and ØafÉ. 2hat is the goal and the pride of the ethico-religious $uestwith grace and sincerity,—a $uest that is the very essence of +slam5

2he ultimate goal of the 6ur’anic ethico-religious $uest is God-realization5 (ut, its pursuit is

impossible without selfrealization, which, therefore, becomes a Muslim’s primary obligation5

2he struggle for self-realisation emerges in the 6ur’anic perspective as basically three-dimensional7

the religious, the ethical, and the intellectual5

+n spite of the fact, however, that it is to be underta/en fundamentally as the first step in the e*ercise

of God realisation, it leads simultaneously to a /nowledge which might be named as the ‘/nowledge

of #piritual #cience’5

2hat /nowledge is scientific, because it is based, li/e physical science, on observation and

verification5 2he parapsychologists of today, wor/ing at the psychical level alone, have affirmed the0#), the astral pro:ection, etc5 (ut, #piritual #cience, in the hands of genuine ØufÊ teachers, hasattained immeasurably greater heights5 2he revelation by men li/e &umi and +bn al-!rabi of certain

higher truths discovered only recently by physical science, is a case in point5

#urely, Bid‘ah Ei.e., ‘spiritual’ practices that violate +slamF and superstitions should be condemned byevery genuine Muslim5 (ut, to condemn the #piritual #cience itself is unwarranted5

)rayer and %asting play very definite roles in the 6ur’anic spiritual .ulture5

)rayer is an e*ercise in respect of the .ommunion of the finite with the +nfinite5 +t e*tricates the finite

individual from servitude to the finite and opens to him the road to infinite progress5 )rayer is thus for

progress5 %asting is the e*ercise in self-control, which is the /ey to spiritual progress5

2he enemies of +slam have propagated the allegation that, because of its permission of polygamy, the

6ur’an teaches se*-indulgence, which does not harmonize with the pursuit of spiritual refinement and

progress5 !ctually, that allegation is based on the age-old misconception of !scetic ethics, wherein

the very fulfillment of the natural biological demand of se* is considered to be unholy, in contra-distinction to the 6ur’anic view, which holds it as sacred, because it is in conformity with the ivine

#cheme, and which condemns only licentiousness as unholy5 2hus, the $ualified and restricted

6ur’anic permission for polygamy has not been prescribed as a license for se*-indulgence but only as

an alternative to promiscuity and prostitution, which it eliminates successfully, in sharp contrast with

the !scetic as well as the 2otally-Monogamic social philosophies5 !s for the former, one has to read

only the history of .hristianity in the !ge of %aith to witness the most ugly storm of licentatiousness

that overtoo/ even the pursuers of saintliness, not to spea/ of the common fol/5 E(esides other

literature on the sub:ect, the 0Hi'to&, of Sa%e&$otal Celi1a%, in t(e C(&i'tian C(u&%(2 written bya very devout .hristian scholar named enry .5 'ea, published by the niversity (oo/s +nc5, 5#5!5,

C@@, is enough to provide a correct estimate of the moral disaster perpetrated by that wrong

philosophyF5 .oming to the latter, the modern "estern civilization has established the most heinous

record of licentiousness,—a record unsurpassed in the history of human civilizations5


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2he enemies of +slam e*tend their allegation to the person of the oly )rophet Muhammad ρ also,

and that to such an e*tent as to deny to him, with all his superbly-great $ualities of character, even

basic spiritual goodness and greatness, simply on the basis of his practice of polygamy5 (ut, what are

the facts8

Fi&'tl,, his entire personal life was a life of war against ease, opulence, lu*uries, and self-indulgencein general5 +ndeed, it was through and through a life of !usterity, wherein, even at the height of his

material power, he lived in a small thatched mud-hut, passed his days in hunger and toil, and spent his

nights for the most part standing in prayer to God5

Se%on$l,, he adopted polygamy towards the dawn of old age, having led an e*emplary monogamouslife from the age of twenty-five to the age of fifty in the company of a twice-widowed lady who was

fifteen years his senior5

T(i&$l,, during the polygamous period, while there was a wife li/e 'ady !yesha, who was a virgin of seventeen at the time of the consummation of marriage, there were those who were widows or

divorcees, and there were even those who, at the time of their marriage with him, were already so old

as to have crossed the limit of fitness for married life5 !ll these facts demolish the very basis of the

aforesaid insinuation completely, and establish, instead, the truth that the oly )rophet ρ adopted

polygamy in the Medinite period of his life 'olel, for the sa/e of his noble and sacred mission,—andthat in the perspective of a two-fold achievement5 %irstly, in the tribal society of !rabia of those days,

wherein one of the fundamental conditions of the success of his mission lay in the unification of the

mutually-hostile tribes, one of the most potent instrument of their unification, in accordance with the

mentality of the !rabs of those days, consisted in uniting them through a /inship centered in his person,—and his marriages did ma/e a signal contribution in that behalf5 #econdly, through those

different marriages he was able to build in the persons of his wives the most accomplished lady-

teachers and embodiments of +slam for the propagation of +slamic /nowledge among the womenfol/5

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Role of the Quran as the Book of Guidance