THE
ELEMENTS
OF ISLAM
(Excerpts Only)
By:
Shaykh
Fadhlalla Haeri
Chapter
2
Faith and
Path
Whatever is in the heavens and earth declares the glory of
Allah, and He is the Mighty, the Wise.
Qur`an 57:1
The Qur`an reveals that all creation adores and worships the Creator, which is the very purpose of creation. All outer physical realities have been created from a unique essence which encompasses all these realities in their changing manifestation. The
Qur`an further reveals that
in every instance and in every experience Allah manifests in a different fashion
(55:29). We are also told that Allah created humankind from one self and from it created its pair
(7:189). This self has been given a choice of either rising to its divine origin or allowing itself to become corrupted in this world and then suffering in the hereafter.
...
Elements
of the Din
Surely the [true] religion with Allah is Islam. And those who were given the Book differed only after knowledge had come to them, out of envy among themselves.
Qur`an 3:19
No word in English is adequate to
convey the all-encompassing nature of the word Din, which is most commonly translated as
'religion'. The root of the word Din relates to obedience and following and to owing or being indebted. The
Din of Islam envelops a total pattern of transaction with oneself, creation and the Creator. To follow, submit and comply with the truth is the only appropriate way to act in this creation.
According to the Qur`an, all Prophets and Messengers were in Allah's
Din; they were all therefore in Islam (22:78).
...
Foundation
of the Din
The first foundation of belief
– the creed or shahadah (literally testimony) – is that there is no god but the One God and that Muhammad is His Messenger.
There is only one unique, ultimate high Reality, and that One God reflects in attributes, the most beautiful of which are the ninety-nine names mentioned in the
Qur`an (such as the Beneficent,
ar-Rahman; the All-Seeing, al-Basir; the Expander, al-Basit). God's total attributes, however, cannot be counted. The
Qur`an says:
And if all the
trees in the earth were pens and the sea with seven mare seas added to it
[were ink], the words of Allah would not be exhausted; surely Allah is Mighty, Wise.
Qur`an 31:27
...
The second fundamental element of faith is divine justice.
Allah is absolutely just. ...
The third foundation of belief is that of prophethood. From the Higher Reality numerous Prophets and Messengers have come in order to raise human consciousness to that higher awareness and knowledge. Coming at different times and to different people, these beings have always imparted the same message but with slightly varying outer practices appropriate to their times. Muhammad embodies all previous teachings and as far as outer practice is concerned he supersedes them all.
...
The fourth element relates to spiritual leadership and the necessity of combining the spiritual with the secular.
The Prophet Muhammad was the supreme example of this for he was
the governor as well as the foremost spiritual guide of his time.
...
The last element of faith is the 'return': the belief that the
soul lives on in another phase of existence after the death of the body. In the hereafter the soul will live by whatever it has attained and achieved by means of its intentions and actions in this world.
...
Creation
His command, when He intends anything, is only to say to it,
'Be', and it is.
Qur`an 36:82
All creation has come about from the command 'Be'. The
Qur`an describes how the world of solidity has come about from a fluid and gaseous substance, before which there was nothing but the void from which the command came. The return to that original point of emanation is also described (19:40, 41:21).
As for the purpose of creation, Allah says in a sacred tradition,
'I was a hidden treasure and I loved to be known, therefore I created so that I might be known.' The primary purpose of creation is to know the Creator.
Wherever you turn, there is the face of
Allah.
Qur`an 2:115
...
Creation follows a certain prescribed path or decree to meet its final destiny. Every physical entity is subject to natural laws and limitations. Its destiny is determined according to its interaction with the multitudes of laws at play. As far as human choice is concerned, we can choose to expose ourselves to certain situations and their concomitant governing laws rather than others. If, for example, one acts with fear, pessimism and
neglect, then the outcome of the action will in all probability be failure.
We need to consider, therefore, all the laws that affect a particular situation and apply these 'decrees' until the final destiny is achieved.
Allah's revelation in the
Qur`an and the prophetic teachings highlight the importance of developing the faculty of cognition and reasoning. The prophetic advice is to take reasoning to its limit and then depend on Allah with positive faith, trust and the highest expectation of the right (i.e. best) outcome.
...
Allah says in the
Qur`an that every person is responsible and accountable for his or her own actions and for the extent to which he or she has realized the purpose of existence. He says that
'If you bring to life one person it is as though you have brought to life the entire creation, and if you kill one person you have killed the entire
creation.' This underlines the unitive, creational reality behind the multiplicity of observed or experienced creation. The highest goal is to bring forth life
– enlightened, awakened, 'real' life as distinct from purely biological sentience. It is as though this life is a nursery in which we are all
being taught the ultimate knowledge of the One, All-Permeating Reality which is the source of life as experienced in this world.
...
Microcosm:
Humankind
He created you from a single being, then made its mate of the
same kind.
Qur`an 39:6
The most important creation is our own self.
...
The prophetic model of the origin and development of the self teaches us that spirit acts upon matter, and results in a soul which lives within the physical body, which in turn integrates biological, physiological, mental and intellectual components.
We experience the gross, physical body as well as the subtler
mental and higher cognitive faculties. The human self includes all
these constituents and the experiences that come through them.
Knowledge of the self, therefore, is based on understanding these
various facets.
The self is bracketed at one end with divine light-spirit, and at the other by the physical, earthy body which contains elements of all that is in nature
– mineral, vegetal or animal. The whole range of possible behavior
has been given to the self, from the most degenerate to the most virtuous and divine. It is only through purification of the heart, however, that the self takes on the
color of the divine.
...
We can describe the body, mind and intellect, but when it comes to higher awareness, we are unable to reason or
analyze this central zone of the heart. The Qur`an refers to the heart on numerous occasions:
O you who believe! Answer [the call of) Allah and His Apostle when He calls you to that which brings you life; and know that Allah intervenes between man and his heart, and that to Him you shall be gathered.
Qur`an 8:24
The Qur`an also tells us that
it is only through remembrance of Allah that hearts achieve contentment (13:28).
...
Higher inner understanding and cognition occur when the
heart is healthy and able to receive the relevant inspiration.
The self is journeying in this world, both physically and metaphorically.
...
Allah, the All-Merciful, reminds us in the
Qur`an that
while His mercy pervades every situation and experience it is the individual who fashions his or her world
(7:156). Indeed, the Garden or the Fire of the hereafter is
being rehearsed and produced by our own conduct in this world.
...
Self-awakening is the realization and understanding of all the different aspects that the self experiences.
...
The Prophet
said, 'Whoever knows his self knows his Lord.' ...
Macrocosm:
The Natural World
Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth. A likeness of His light is as a pillar on which is a lamp
– the lamp is in a glass, the glass is as it were a brightly shining star
– lit from a blessed olive tree, neither eastern nor western, the oil whereof gives light, though fire touch it not
– light upon light. Allah guides to His light whom He pleases. And Allah sets forth parables for men, and Allah is Knower of all things.
Qur`an 24:35
The world at large is
the mirror in which we reflect ourselves. It is the macrocosm in
which the individual self, the microcosm, discovers itself. ...
All worldly experience is based on opposites: it is either day
or night, sweet or sour, hot or cold, man or woman, exhaling or inhaling, desirable or undesirable.
..
...
Islam teaches us the laws both of the inner self and of the outer world. Both the
Qur`an and the Prophet's
Sunnah (way) indicate that there is an optimum way of dealing with the self as well as its larger reflection. This optimum way is the foundation, the teachings of which later came to be collected and called the
Shari'ah (literally 'way' or 'road'), or Law.
Made up as it is of divine revelation and prophetic practice, the
Shari'ah focuses on personal as well as environmental hygiene, both literally and metaphorically.
... The
Qur`an constantly encourages generosity and trust, while the prophetic teaching is very much based on taking little in order to give more. The path of Islam is made up of piety, asceticism, courtesy and struggle in the way of Allah and the Prophet.
In order for society to exist and for civilization to flourish, it is necessary to have outer prescriptions delineating certain limits.
... Respect for nature is respect for the Creator.
The macrocosm of the world is the training ground in which the grooming of the self takes place, the nursery in which humanity can strive to
fulfill its purpose. The world is the Medina of mankind, for it is here that we discharge the debt upon ourselves to discover the origin of our higher
self. By understanding the self within, we will come to understand the universe, for the inner universe is a true compact replica of the vast outer universe. If we start with the microcosm we shall end up with the macrocosm and vice versa, for the two are only manifestations of the One.
Unicosm:
The All-Pervading Reality
For the purposes of describing the greater cosmic reality which permeates and encompasses both the microcosm and the macrocosm, we have taken the liberty of coining a new term: the
unicosm. The relationship between the unicosm, the individual being and the world at large is such that they are interlinked both discernibly and in the unseen. Each individual experiences the outer material world as well as the inner world which is more subtle and therefore less controllable or definable. Every part of the created world possesses an inner and an outer aspect.
The unicosm refers to the outer and the inner, the seen and the unseen, the interlinks within creation and between creation and its Source.
...
Life after creation
will enter a phase that is subject to neither time nor space. It
is therefore not a zone in which we can act or interact. ...
The roots of justice, peace, wisdom and purity all pertain to the world of unicosm.
...
The human soul contains a dimension which is beyond time and space (the spirit), and a locus of experience of reality within time and space (the self). If we are truly to experience our universality, or the
unicosm within us, we not only need to know the
cosmology of the
self, we also need to be exposed to the unseen, access to which is gained through a pure trusting heart, in submission to Allah. Access to that state comes with practice and discipline whereby the mind is quietened and all reason and understanding is transcended, until another dimension within the self is awakened to. This state of awareness reflects true elements of creativity which are not tangibly discernible nor motivated by need, desire or any other outward
impulse. The pathway to this state is not through acquiring power (such as the so-called paranormal) but through abandoning all powers and will.
The ultimate objective that human beings can achieve in this world is the spontaneous unification between the inner and the outer, the seen and the unseen.
...
The world of unicosm is the pinnacle of creational manifestation. Consciousness of the unicosm can be attained by those who have awakened to that in-built potential and who, through discernment and discipline, are ready to be transformed into its higher dimension of reality.
The essence of the
Qur`anic and the prophetic teaching is based upon willingness to abandon the world and all
attachment to it and, indeed, to experience 'death' before biological death. The Prophet said:
'Die before you die', meaning: transcend all sense and reasoning. The path of
Islam does not deny the importance and necessity of reason and care for the physical, for these are vital, primary duties and conditions.
...
...
