There are so many instances in the Holy Quran and
the Sunnah, where Allah Almighty stresses the interconnectedness between
the two- with Dunya (life) representing the platform through which
humankind practice their Deen; the law they abide by and adhere to in
their living.
The inherited misconception of a seeming "split" between Deen "religion", and Dunya “life” never ceased to prove erroneous. There are so many instances in the Holy Quran and the Sunnah, where Allah Almighty and His Prophet (pbuh) stress the interconnectedness between the two- with life representing the realm or the platform through which humankind practice their Deen; the law they abide by, and the method they adhere to in their living.
The inherited misconception of a seeming "split" between Deen "religion", and Dunya “life” never ceased to prove erroneous. There are so many instances in the Holy Quran and the Sunnah, where Allah Almighty and His Prophet (pbuh) stress the interconnectedness between the two- with life representing the realm or the platform through which humankind practice their Deen; the law they abide by, and the method they adhere to in their living.
Idiomatically, Deen means a way of life or method to be fulfilled, so
it’s strictly tied to a set of practices man follows during the course
of his life. And as an Islamic term, Deen, or Religion, means the Law
according to which Muslims are either rewarded or punished in this life
and the hereafter.
It is highlighted in a variety of ways, directly and indirectly, in the
Qur’an and the Sunnah, among other Islamic Legislative sources, that
the Deen is the living manual and the source of light for people guiding
them to salvation and enlightening them as to what earns them God’s
satisfaction and what causes his Wrath, God forbids. It also guides them
as to how to live this temporarily life, protecting their rights,
telling them of their duties, and demystifying many truths about this
transitional phase leading to an everlasting Paradise or Hell. Hence the
Law of Islam or
Deen is for this life, it is to be applied during this life, and its
result of its application is to be reaped in the hereafter.
This is the first argument proving the falsity of the claim detaching
Deen from Dunya. The Deen has been ordained for the Dunya, and Dunya is
the only possible realm of application for the Deen- as for the
Hereafter, it is for Judgment, reward, and punishment.
Islam is an all-encompassing religion and way of life, covering all
fields of living; let them be financial dealings, socio-political
matters, human rights, spirituality, mental dilemmas, manners, or even
health advices. So it’s a cohesive legislation and law safeguarding the
order of this life.
Adhering to God’s law and Shariah, and this shouldn’t be restricted to
Hudud and the set of punishments of major sins in Islam, ensures optimum
protection to human rights, balancing the order of all fields of life,
let alone preserving individuals’’ freedom and dignity and shielding
them against the control of any person or institution. It’s the One’s
law, and it’s the One’s will that makes things happen or put them to a
halt.
Applying the Deen, furthermore, can be referred to as a practical
assertion to a genuine and complete submission to the will of God and
His commands.
Allah says in the Qur’an:
“Say (O Mohammad): "I have been commanded to worship Allah, making my
Deen sincerely to Him, and commanded to be the first of His
obedient-servants."-- (Quran 39:11)
The process of sending Messengers and Prophets with revelations from
Almighty Allah went on unabated since the beginning of creation. Prophet
after the other were sent down carrying messages of guidance and
enlightenment, bringing resolution to much of the disputed matters of
life, and putting an end to a variety of barbaric practices that
inflicted all sorts of harm on humanity at large, setting up the law, or
Deen, which only came into completion and perfection with the advent of
the concluding Prophet, Muhammad Ibn Abdullah (peace be upon him).
"O followers of earlier revelations! Our Messenger has come to you
bringing clarity after break (in the chain) of Messengers. This, lest
you might claim, 'We never received any announcer of good news nor any
Warner.' Now you have received an announcer of good news and a Warner.
And Allah has power over everything"-- Quran 5:21
Before the coming of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) the Arabian
peninsula was home to abound of inhuman practices that encompassed all
sorts of barbarism and vulgarity, new born girls being killed, brothers
marrying their sisters, theft, brutality, oppression of the poor at the
hands of tribal leaders, men having up till hundreds of wives, if
they're to be called so, homosexuality and many more. Islam, as a Deen,
came to put right many wrongs. It set the legislation that would revive
the human Fitra, or natural instinct, after deviation from its
originality. The Deen was ordained to be used as a source of guidance
and light in this life and not the hereafter. It brought along a new set
of ethics and moral values which, when employed, provided much
protection to human dignity, rights and freedoms.
In a beautiful verse of the Qur’an, Allah (SWT) outlines vivid
characteristics of that who denies the Deen, portraying him as ill
mannered, hard-hearted, and credited for much disorder in his community.
“Have you seen the one who denies Deen (the life after death)? He is
one who spurns the orphan, and does not urge people to feed the needy
and the indigent.-- (Quran 107:1-3)
Deen and Dunya make up one entity, that is the way to salvation and
genuine happiness in this life and the hereafter. And ignoring the Deen
to get hold of as much worldly pleasure as one wishes for is trading a
short lived joy, for an everlasting one.
This confounds clichés associating Deen with all that goes against the
well being of individuals. It's the Deen that ensures social justices
and respect for human rights. It's the Deen that set the rules for a
balanced life void of brutality and barbarism, one that gives
sovereignty only to Allah Almighty, and not anybody or any man-made law.
It's through the Deen that humanity learned about freedom, justice, dignity and tolerance.
If fully and efficiently grasped and applied, Deen can be employed to
avail a joyous, secure, and balanced life. There's no conflict between
Deen and Dunya as some claim. Deen safeguards the Dunya and through Deen
individuals can live a prosperous kind of life that doesn't put them at
the mercy of others or even desires. Deen, or religion, makes humans
more human, and imbibes in them the original purity and moral goodness
upon which they were originally created.
And without Deen, people would easily fall back to those dark ages, where they were denied their basic human rights.
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