Author: Abdul Hai Lay'yan
Religious Needs Assessment of Human Beings in the Light of Islamic Teachings (Part 3)
Two factors contributed to the spread and promotion of these views in modern Europe:
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The moral corruption of some churchmen and their inability to fulfill their duty to the people of the West. In these circumstances, people hiding behind irreligious and destructive movements took advantage of this phenomenon to remove the churchmen from the power and system that ruled society.
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The oppression of laws and the unfair distribution of public wealth. This injustice led to the division of Western society into two main classes: the middle class, which enjoyed profits and benefits, and the working class, which was responsible for work and suffering. The first class exploited the second class through collusion between the men of power and the churchmen. For this reason, it became easy to convince the people that religion and law were only invented by clever people to dominate the nations and their wealth.
In this situation, biased individuals who were hidden under the cover of darkness took the opportunity to remove the principle of religiosity from Western society and completely erase its signs from life.
However, before the end of the eighteenth century, the falsehood of these claims became apparent. With the expansion of travel outside Europe and the discovery of various customs, beliefs and myths, it became clear that the principle of religiosity is a universal principle and no nation, past or present, has been devoid of it; even despite the differences in levels of progress or degrees of barbarity.
Therefore, it became clear that religion in societies is older than any material civilization, and is not based on the deception of leaders or the misguidance of the clever, nor has it been formed on the basis of fleeting reasons or special circumstances; but it originates from a genuine and common nature among humans.
Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that a particular belief may have emerged at a specific time period; But even if such a thing existed to deal with a specific situation, there is no single reason to show that the principle of religiosity, in its essence, came into being after the emergence of human. [1]
In short, the principle of religiosity is simultaneous with the existence of human in this world, and is an innate necessity that no human can remove from himself. The root and origin of this religiosity is human’s confession of the existence of the Creator of the universe and everything in it. Human accepts the greatness and glory of the Creator in his heart with this confession, and this leads him to worship that Creator out of love and reverence.
Allah’s wisdom was to help human with the light of His revelation so that this inner necessity would be strengthened and the path of adhering to its requirements would be illuminated for him. Thus, we understand that the power of religiosity originated from within human and is linked to his being.
The social structure by which human fulfills his responsibility for the development of the earth can only be sustained by the existence of a law, respect for which guarantees private and public interests; otherwise, no society can be formed.
There is no power on earth that can equal the power of religion in ensuring respect for social laws, maintaining the cohesion of society and the stability of its system, and providing peace and security.
The secret of this issue is that human is distinguished from other earthly creatures because his voluntary movements and behaviors are guided by something that is neither seen by the eye nor heard by the ear; rather, they are guided by what is in his heart. It is with the heart that the soul of human is exalted and the members of his body are sustained, or vice versa. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Know that there is a piece of flesh in the body that if it is righteous, the whole body is righteous, and if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt. Know that it is the heart.” [2]
A group went astray and thought that a person’s faith and belief did not affect his material and economic life; rather, he was influenced by it.
The truth is that a person is guided by his inner self, not by his appearance. The laws of societies and the power of governments alone are not enough to establish a civilization in which rights are fully respected and duties are performed in the best possible way. The only real guardian and observer of a person, in any case, is the faith that is in his heart and follows him wherever he goes.
This faith is of two types:
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Belief in the value of virtue and human dignity and such abstract concepts that prevent noble souls from disobeying them, even if they are exempt from external consequences and material rewards.
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Belief in the existence of the Creator of the world and its creatures and that He is the Watcher over all; nothing of their affairs is hidden from Him, and He loves goodness and righteousness and hates evil and corruption. Therefore, human adheres to doing all these out of love and reverence.
This second type of faith is the strongest type of faith in influencing the human soul, which has the greatest resistance to the storms of desire and fluctuations of emotions, and penetrates the hearts of the elite and the common people the fastest.
That is why religion is the best guarantor for establishing relations between people based on justice and fairness, and is therefore a social necessity. So it is not surprising that religion in a nation has the position of the heart in the body. [3]
Whoever compares the status of the followers of religions (Muslims, Jews, and Christians) with the status of others in beneficial knowledge and righteous deeds, it becomes clear to him that the status of the people of religion is far more perfect. And if he looks at the scientific and practical wisdom of non-religious people, such as the wisdom of the Indians, Greeks, Arabs of ignorance, Iranians, and others, he will find that what they have is only a part of the scientific and practical wisdom of the people of religion. Therefore, it is impossible for the scientists of Greece and India and the like to be on the right and guided, but the Muslim scientists to be on the wrong and misguided.
In short, there is no beneficial knowledge or righteous deeds of scientific and practical wisdom among non-religious people, unless it Is more perfect among the people of religion, and there is no evil among the people of religion, except that it is more abundant among others.
Among the followers of religions other than Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, there is no significant knowledge of God (Allah), His angels, His books, and His prophets, nor do they benefit from worshiping Allah alone and without partners. The natural sciences and mathematics that they possess are of no benefit after death, unless they are used to gain what is beneficial after death. Also, their knowledge of the soul and spirit is very little, and at the same time, it contains many errors.
Every useful science and every righteous deed that they possess is only a part of what the prophets (peace be upon them) brought with them.
This belief brings a scientific and practical perfection to the followers of religions that is not achieved by others.
Therefore, it can be said that human life on earth will not be improved and sustained without a correct religion through which he understands the meaning of his existence and uses it in a worthy way. [4]
Continues…
References:
- Muhammad Abdullah, Daraz, Religion… Preliminary Studies for the Study of Religious History, pp. 80-83.
- Agreed upon; Sahih Bukhari, Chapter: “The Merit of One Who Purifies His Religion,” No. 52 and Sahih Muslim, Chapter: Accepting Lawful Things and Abandoning Doubtful Things, No. 107.
- Muhammad Abdullah, Daraz, Religion… Preliminary Studies for the Study of Religious History, pp. 98-100.
- Ahmad ibn Abd al-Halim, Shaikh al-Islam Taqi al-Din, The Correct Answer to Those Who Changed the Religion of Christ, Riyadh: Dar al-Asimah, Vol. 5, pp. 137-138.
