Man has been created as Allah’s vicegerent on earth. With his honorable mission, man signifies the climax and the epicenter of Allah’s act of creation and its divine purpose. As such, man elevates himself to the highest level in the hierarchy of life’s constituents.
Islam teaches that man has been created as Allah’s vicegerent on earth. With his honorable vicegerency (khilafah) mission, man signifies both the climax and the epicenter of Allah’s act of creation and its divine purpose. As such, when completely submitting to the Will and Word of his Creator and Master – as man’s ultimate fate ought to be — man elevates himself to the highest level in the hierarchy of life’s multifaceted constituents and beings, including angels. Man’s life, then, in its totality becomes one sweet song of worshipping, glorifying and praising Allah, the Lord of the universe. It becomes a form of worship (‘ibadah) where Allah in all the life interests and pursuits of man becomes the ultimate object of all his spiritual cravings and desires. “He is the final end, that is, the end at which all finalistic nexuses aim and come to rest…He is an end for all other ends”, Isma’il Raji al-Faruqi inferred.
In Islam, life is a perfectly meaningful, consequential, purposeful, beautiful, pure and wholesome affair. Thus, it is regarded as sacred, and living it in accordance with Allah’s guidance, which is meant for that very purpose, is synonymous with worship and submission to Allah. Allah says that He had created both men and Jinns only that they may worship and serve Him (al-Dhariyat, 56).
It follows that for a person to thus live his life is to keep things in a natural order, to remain on the right path and to remain faithful and loyal to Allah. It means, furthermore, that he is bound to remain faithful to his inner self and to what he really is and was always meant to be. Conversely, for a person to alienate an aspect of his life from the inspiration and guidance of Allah is to start moving towards an aberrant order of things, unfaithfulness and disloyalty to Allah. The more estranged his life aspects from divine guidance and inspiration, the more alienated from Allah a man becomes, and the more deviant and anomalous the life tendencies, which he evolves and adopts, become, and, finally, the more alienated from, and deceitful towards, his intrinsic self and its disposition, a man becomes. As Muhammad Iqbal remarked:
“When faith is lost then so is peace,
And there is no life for the one who is not enlivened by religion (Islam),
Whoever is pleased with a life bereft of faith
Has made total ruin to be life’s substance.”
Hence, Islamic pure religious rituals, which have been prescribed to be performed at appointed times, are to be viewed as neither separated from nor burdensomely imposed superfluous actions on the smooth flow of everyday life activities. Rather, such religious rituals are to be viewed as life’s integral dimension which inspires, guides, facilitates and gives a perfect sense to the rest of life’s dimensions. The two systems of expression, the spiritual and the physical ones, construct a perfect whole which, although operational in terrestrial contexts, transcends them and aims for a higher metaphysical order of ideas and things where its full potential can only be fully realized. However, if the two systems are separated, always being at odds and on a collision course with each other, the religious rituals will then be reduced to mere mechanical and spiritless movements and acts, spawning in turn a lifestyle deeply rooted in a deadening formalism which is incapable of bringing much good to anyone. As per the same proposition, the physical aspects of human existence, once separated from divinity, will become ephemeral, imprudent, hollow, and, more often than not, perilous. The spiritual and physical aspects of life, it stands to reason, need each other for their individual as well as collective realizations. Man’s fulfillment of his vicegerency mission completely depends on such a coalition. Without it, man would not really be a man, his life a life, and his life mission a mission. Islamic worship combines the mundane with the spiritual, the individual with the society, and the internal soul with the external body.
Islam is a religion of actions and deeds. Islam is a religion of life accomplishments. Islam is life, and life, the way Allah created and predetermined it, echoes the quintessence and ethos of Islam. The word “islam” which implies a total submission to Allah through one’s acts, words and thoughts, clearly attests to it. Islam is not a religion of mere words, slogans, or symbols. Islam is not a religion of an abstract philosophy, or a set of sheer religious rituals. Islam knows no distinction between the spiritual and material realms of existence along the ideological and ontological lines. To assert something like that is to distort the Islamic message and to live in the wrong. Due to the unity and oneness of Allah, Islam likewise propagates the unity and oneness of the truth and of the meaning, purpose and providence of life and man.
Moreover, Islam is a religion of culture and civilization. It is as much a matter of a personal spiritual transformation and enrichment, as it is a matter of an all-embracing societal upbringing, reform and advancement. Islam is a religion of wisdom and erudition where revelation and reason are not at loggerheads with each other. Rather, they cooperate with and support each other, each one knowing its respective intent and scope, while honoring the intent and scope of the other pole. Islam is a rational religion. According to Muhammad Iqbal, Islam, in view of its function, “stands in greater need of a rational foundation of its ultimate principles than even the dogmas of science.”
Practicing Islam inevitably means the creation of a comprehensive culture and civilization that carry the imprints of Islamic values, teachings and principles, in some aspects more and in other aspects less. Islam is so much concerned about quenching man’s thirst for socializing and interacting with others that some people could not help observing that Islam, as a matter of fact, have a preference for the sedentary over the nomad, and for the city dweller over the villager. While contending that Islam is a “profoundly urban faith” , those people were implicitly suggesting the universalism, comprehensiveness, pragmatism and dynamism of Islam’s teachings and value and belief systems, which in no way can be restricted to a geographical region, a point of time, a group of people, or a single aspect — or a few aspects — of human existence.
It was because of this underlining character of Islam, surely, that after Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had received in the cave of Hira’ his first revelation, and with it his appointment as a messenger of Allah to people, where heretofore he used to spend long periods contemplating and reflecting on the spiritual depression and failure of the world around him, he subsequently never returned to the cave. He did so because Islam is not a religion of isolation to be practiced by certain ascetic individuals away from the masses and the pressing realities of life. It must be pointed out that the whole process of the Islamic transformation project started right in the cave of Hira’, but not with the words of, for example, “pray” or “fast” or “perform pilgrimage”, etc., but rather with the words “Read (iqra’) in the name of your Lord Who created. He created man from a clot. Read and your Lord is most Honorable, Who taught (to write) with the pen.” (al-‘Alaq, 1-4)
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was asked – as is anyone who subscribes to Islam and Muhammad’s mission – to read, study, try to solve and make known the problems and maladies of his people, as well as of the world and life in general. This is strongly suggested by the notions of Allah the Creator and Guardian, and man the guided and taught mortal completely dependent on Allah, which are enfolded in the above mentioned verses. If Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was asked to read in the narrowest meaning of the word iqra’, such would have been a paradox because Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was, and remained, an illiterate man. However, since he was asked to read in the widest and most comprehensive meaning of the word iqra’, without which even the purest religious rites and ceremonies cannot be carried out, such not only was not a paradox, but also made the most perfect sense, as Muhammad (pbuh) in terms of wisdom, intelligence, perspicacity, spirituality and morals was the most complete man. His sublime conduct embodied all the qualities which were expected to rise from the Islamic “iqra’” scheme. Though outwardly illiterate, Muhammad (pbuh) was a perfectly “literate” man. He perfectly exemplified the Islamic message.
The words “Read (iqra’) in the name of your Lord Who created” perfectly exemplifies the Islamic message too. Because of him being an excellent exemplar, Allah’s chosen one, every single Muslim believer extraordinarily admires and endeavors to follow Muhammad’s most beautiful pattern of conduct in his daily life. A prominent place in that task occupies the application of the universal model of iqra’ with all of its dimensions and implications. Due to this, the relevance of Muhammad (pbuh), iqra’ and Islam never fizzles out. “It was Allah Who educated me and Who perfected my good manners”, were once the words of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Due to this, furthermore, the relevance of Islamic worship, which spawns all-encompassing Islamic lifestyles, never fizzles out either.
Owing to the similar reasons, indeed, the early Muslims had been forced to migrate from Makkah to Madinah, the former being the Prophet’s birthplace and the place which he loved most on earth, because the application of Islam’s universal, all-inclusive and dynamic message in Makkah proved unfeasible after 13 years of intense and futile trying. Thus, other alternatives had to be sought and appraised for the purpose. The best alternative was the town, or the area with a number of loosely interconnected settlements, called Yathrib whose name the Prophet (pbuh) immediately after the migration changed to Madinah (the City). Madinah, the city-state of Islam, entailed in its new name several and thus deliberately publicized meanings and messages concerning Islam and the nascent Muslim community which embodied the former. Some of those meanings and messages were: Madinah is a place where Islam as a complete way of life is practiced; Madinah is a place of civilization; Madinah is a place where the supreme authority of Islam (Allah) is established and adhered to.
Thus, whatever believers do, they do it for the sake of Allah, i.e., for the sake of upholding the truth, as well as for the sake of ensuring that the Word of Allah reigns supreme on Allah’s earth and in the midst of Allah’s animate and inanimate creatures, which is the only natural, logical and needed thing. Indeed, this is exactly what is expected from true believers to do. Consequently, they are abundantly rewarded for their actions in both worlds: in this world by living an honorable, consequential and truly productive life, and in the Hereafter by the eternal bliss of Paradise. In short, for every act of his, no matter how small and insignificant it may be, a believer is rewarded by Allah, even when he or she spends the most intimate moments with his or her spouse, as expounded by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) on many occasions. A believer is rewarded for spending his earnings on his family members too. The Prophet (pbuh) has said: “You will be rewarded for whatever you spend for Allah’s sake even if it were a morsel which you put in your wife’s mouth.”
While promising it to believers in the Qur’an, Allah calls this type of life hayatan tayyibah and mata’an hasanan, which mean a happy life and a good and true enjoyment respectively. Allah says: “Whoever does good whether male or female and he is a believer, We will most certainly make him live a happy life, and We will most certainly give them their reward for the best of what they did.” (al-Nahl, 97)
“Seek the forgiveness of your Lord, and turn to Him in repentance; that He may grant you enjoyment, good (and true), for a term appointed, and bestow His abounding grace on all who abound in merit! But if you turn away, then I fear for you the penalty of a great day.” (Hud, 3)
Islam strikes a fine balance between the exigencies of the material and spiritual aspects of existence, between the requirements of one’s well-being in this world and in the Hereafter, and between the needs of personal, family as well as societal development. Islam means having a strong and complete faith in Allah and the other required realities from the spiritual and corporeal worlds plus performing good deeds under all circumstances. Appropriation of simply one aspect of Islam without the other is insufficient for attaining salvation. The two must be integrated in a whole that we call “Islam”, which, in turn, must be interwoven with the life-force of the notion of comprehensive excellence or ihsan. In Islam, faith and good deeds go hand-in-hand. Neither faith suffices without good deeds, nor good deeds are of value without faith. A strong relationship between faith and good deeds is the way towards comprehensive excellence. That, too, is the way towards an Islamic quality culture.
About how neatly Islam strikes a fine balance between the exigencies of the material and spiritual aspects of life, and between the soul and the body, Isma’il Raji al-Faruqi wrote: “The Prophet (pbuh) has directed his followers against overextending rituals of worship, against celibacy, against exaggerated fasting, against pessimism and the morose mood. He ordered them to break the fast before performing the sunset prayer, to keep their bodies clean and their teeth brushed, to groom and perfume themselves and wear their best clothes when they congregate for prayer, to marry, to take their time to rest and to sleep and recreate themselves with sports and the arts. Naturally, Islam ordered its adherents to cultivate their faculties; to understand themselves, nature, and the world in which they live; to satisfy their innate craving for food, shelter, comfort, sex and reproduction; to realize balance and harmony in their relations with men and nature; to transform the earth into a producing orchard, a fertile farm and a beautiful garden, to express their understanding, craving, doing and realizing in works of aesthetic beauty.”
The Holy Qur’an affirms that in Islam quality, sincerity and perseverance are preferred over sheer quantity, irregularity and pretense. Allah did not say in the Qur’an that man has been created to perform as many deeds as possible, but He did say on more than one occasion that man has been created to perform his required good deeds in the best possible way. For example, Allah says: “Blessed is He in Whose hand is the kingdom, and He has power over all things, Who created death and life that He may try you — which of you is best in deeds; and He is the Mighty, the Forgiving.” (al-Mulk, 2)
“Surely We have made whatever is on the earth an embellishment for it, so that We may try them (as to) which of them is best in conduct.” (al-Kahf, 7)
“He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six days — and His Throne was over the waters — that He might try you, which of you is best in conduct.” (Hud, 7)
The Prophet (pbuh) once stated that the vision of a believer is a unique one in that he observes through (with) the Light of Allah. Attaining this vision and observing things and events through (with) the Light of Allah, surely, is an ultimate condition which Islam aims to create in its followers. Once they attain that condition, such people will then aspire to see and hear only that which is proper and good, to say and do only that which is moral and upright, and to think about only that which is decent and beneficial.
About this, al-Bukhari related on the authority of Abu Hurayrah who said that the Prophet (pbuh) said that Allah said:
“My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it. I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about (seizing) the soul of My faithful servant: he hates death and I hate hurting him”. According to another version of the same tradition, it has been added that: “…(I am also) his heart with which he perceives, his tongue with which he speaks…”
As a result, a person will be judged on account of his overall performances in life: towards his Creator, his very self, the people around him and the natural environment, as well as on account of the quality of such performances. He will not be judged only on account of his sheer religious rituals because the same rituals have their own personal, family and societal development implications which lie at the core of those rituals and must be duly observed. Carrying out those rituals unconsciously and mechanically just for the sake of carrying them out, or because they became no more than an unresponsive habit or a cultural manifestation, without producing any impact whatsoever on one’s contributions towards one’s personal, family and societal development and contributions, means that they are done incorrectly and that they at the end might not be accepted by Allah. –
Check Part II here
By: Dr. Spahic Omer is Assoc. Prof.
College of Architecture and Environmental Design
International Islamic University Malaysia
Posted on: June 27, 2011
