Religious Needs Assessment of Human Beings in the Light of Islamic Teachings (Part two)
Human and Religiosity
The relationship between human and religion was discussed at the beginning of this study. It should be said that the addressee of this study is human; a being who lives in this existence and is responsible for the development of the earth and controlling the flow of its affairs. He uses the elements of the world to achieve his own interests and is undoubtedly the developer of the earth and the builder of its civilization: “وَلَقَدْ مَكَّنَّاكُمْ فِی الأَرْضِ وَجَعَلْنَا لَكُمْ فِیهَا مَعَایشَ قَلِیلاً مَّا تَشْكُرُونَ” Translation: “We have established you on the earth and given you power and blessings, and provided for you therein a means of livelihood, but little do you give thanks.” [1]
So, human has the power to act on the earth; He plants, cultivates, and harvests whatever he wants, enjoys its benefits, and uses its resources. However, he is certain that one day he will leave all this and migrate from this world to another existence that is unknown and frightening to him.
O human, is it not a matter of respect for your own existence to ask yourself why your existence in this world is like this, while you see that your existence in the world has consequences and results that are not revealed and realized during your worldly life?
Does not the belief that your existence has no ultimate goal and that you are not responsible for what you have created or achieved in this world nullify and demean the meaning of your existence? Although you are a wise and conscious being who is aware of your actions.
Therefore, it is necessary for a wise human to ask himself this question for analysis and consideration; Because whenever he looks at it objectively and rationally, he comes to a certain conclusion: the movement of this world is towards stagnation and any height in it will eventually collapse. And it is inconceivable that this stagnation and collapse are the only share of its inhabitants from their existence in this world. Therefore, there must be an extension of what has happened in this world behind them, and if this were not the case, all of this would be a kind of fruitless emptiness and there is no greater humiliation for human and his existence than such a statement.
Then, after reaching this conclusion, another question arises for him: What is the purpose of human existence in this world? And what are the ways and means to achieve it?
The extent of human ability to answer these questions determines his success in his real life; because he has two life: a physical and material life, in which he is like other animals, and a spiritual and intellectual life, through which he is a superior and honored human being. So, the one who considers his success only in the first life and not in the second life is an animal who is fighting only with another animal.
The purpose of this short research is to reach these necessary answers in the best possible way – Allah willing.
We will present four topics under this section:
Topic One: The Concept of Religion and human Need for Religion
The word «دین» “religion” is derived from the root «دانَ» (meaning religion and faith) and revolves around three main axes:
– The submission of one party to the other.
– The domination of one party over the other.
– The relationship between the two.
For example, «دانَهُ» means “He ruled over him, became the owner and conquered him” and therefore, one of the names of Allah is «الدیان» “al-Dayyan” meaning “Qāhir” (the Conqueror and the Dominant). Also, «دانَ له» means “obeyed and submitted” and «دان بالشیء» means “chosen it as your religion and doctrine”, which includes belief, habit or turning it into character and disposition. [2]
Therefore, religion here means the religion and method that a person adheres to theoretically or practically. The Arab says: «ما زال دینی و دیدنی» means “it is still my habit” and the theoretical religion for him is the belief and opinion that he believes in.
From these explanations, it can be concluded that the word “religion” includes a relationship between two parties in which one holds the other in high esteem and submits to him. If this word is used for the first party, it means command, sovereignty, politics and government. If it is used for the second party, it means submission and obedience and if it is used for the relationship between two parties, it means the systematic method or form that shows that relationship.
The third usage is closer to the subject under discussion, for the word “religion” as used in the history of religions has two meanings:
A mental state (including belief and adherence) by which a person becomes religious.
An external truth that can be referred to through customs, immortal works, or transmitted traditions. The meaning of this state is the set of principles to which a community, whether in belief or practice, adheres.
This second meaning is the more prevalent and common.
Explanation of a few points
However, not every submission and obedience is commonly called “religion”. For example, the submission of the dominant to the subordinate, the obedience of a child to his parents, and the respect of a subordinate to his superior, may have a root other than religion. Also, not every opinion and religion, or every method and disposition, was called religion. [3]
There is another issue: the concept of religion is not limited to the correct religion revealed by the Creator of the heavens and the earth; rather, this submission that guides the behavior, thought patterns, and internal states of human is a broad matter from which almost no human being is exempt.
For this reason, it can be said that human is forced to have a religion to adhere in his worldly life. He is forced to take action to gain benefit and ward off harm, and religion is what distinguishes between beneficial and harmful actions. Therefore, people cannot live without religion, which helps them to distinguish between what they do and what they leave out.
Religion here does not mean simply justice between people in their transactions; rather, even a single person is forced to do or leave out something. Human is a dynamic and striving being, and this is the meaning of the phrase “moved by wills.” When he has a will, he certainly moves with it and must know whether his desire is beneficial or harmful to him? And whether it improves or corrupts it?
Some people understand this by their nature, just as they know that eating and drinking are beneficial for them, and just as they know the necessary sciences by nature. Others understand it by reasoning, as they arrive at it with their own intellect, and some understand it only through the introduction, explanation, and guidance of the prophets. [4]
According to research conducted by some 18th-century writers who paved the way for the French Revolution, they claimed that religions and laws were merely artificial organizations and ephemeral effects on humanity. Some even claimed: “The idea of theism was invented by cunning priests and clerics, who were believed by fools and simpletons.” [5]
Many writers, such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who promoted such false superstitions, were influenced by the Greek Sophists. The Sophists believed that human, at the beginning of his existence, lived without any legal or moral restraints and was subject only to the power of tyranny, until laws were established and the open disturbances of this primitive chaos were eliminated, but secret crimes continued to be prevalent, and it was then that some geniuses thought of convincing the masses that there was a primary and eternal power in the sky that saw everything, heard and dominated everything with its wisdom. [6]
In this way, laws and religions were, from their point of view, nothing more than skillful politics, the purpose of which was to cure the ills of society by any trick or means.
Muhammad bin Makram bin Ali, Ibn Manzur, Lisan al-Arab, Beirut: Dar Sader, Material of Religion; Al-Murtaza, Al-Zubaidi, Taj Al-Arous from Jawaher Al-Qamoos, Beirut: Dar Al-Fikr, article (religion).
Muhammad Abdullah, Daraz, Religion… Researches paving the way for the study of the history of religions, Kuwait: Dar Al-Qalam, Beta, pp. 83-80.
Ahmed bin Abdul Halim, Sheikh Al-Islam Taqi Al-Din, Al-Tadmuriyah… Achieving proof of names and attributes and the reality of combining destiny and Sharia, Riyadh: Al-Ubaikat Library, Sixth edition, pp. 83-84.
Francois Marie Aroué de, Voltaire, Essay on the Manners and Customs and the Spirit of Nations: (Essai sur les mœurs et l’esprit des nations), Publication date: 1756 AD, p. 14.
