As I sit down to write this article, I am reminded of the purpose of religion and the divine books.
Let’s Explore Together What is Religion and Its Purpose?
Religion has been a significant aspect of human life throughout history. People have different beliefs and faiths and follow different religions, but all religions have one common goal: to connect humans with a higher power or a divine force -𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧.
From 𝙋𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙤𝙥𝙝𝙮 to 𝙈𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙢 it was proclaimed that they have excelled in knowing the 𝙏𝙍𝙐𝙏𝙃 but to know what 𝘾𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧 wants from humans the path of 𝙒𝘼𝙃𝙔(𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝘾𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙩𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛) is more reliable and as per standard of 𝙄𝙇𝙈-𝙤-𝘼𝙌𝙇.
𝙄𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙢 is the 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝘾𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙐𝙣𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚 to first 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 and 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙩 𝘼𝙙𝙖𝙢 (𝙥𝙗𝙪𝙝) to last 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙩 𝙈𝙪𝙝𝙖𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙙 (PBUH).
It is the tradition of Prophet 𝘼𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙝𝙖𝙢 (PBUH) the forefather of all three Abrahamic religions i.e. Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Islam is the most followed religions in the world, and it is widely known for its teachings of peace, justice, and submission to the will of God.
The sources of Islam come from the 𝙜𝙪𝙞𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙙 by the Almighty in 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚, and it was later given to mankind through His 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙩𝙨. Prophet Muhammad (sws) is the last of these prophets, and he is the sole source of Islam in the world. It is through him that humans can receive divine guidance, and he has the authority to regard something as part of Islam until the Day of Judgment. Islam has been given to the ummah, the community of Muslims, through the consensus of his companions (rta) and through their perpetual practice and perpetual recitation in two forms: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙌𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙣 and the 𝙎𝙪𝙣𝙣𝙖𝙝.
The Quran was revealed by Allah to Prophet Muhammad (sws) and has since then remained with the ummah. The Sunnah, on the other hand, refers to the tradition of Prophet Abraham’s (sws) religion, which Prophet Muhammad (sws) instituted among his followers as religion after reviving and reforming it and making certain additions to it. There is no difference between the authenticity of the Quran and the Sunnah, and they stand validated like the Quran in every period of time through the consensus of the ummah.
The 𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 of Islam, in Quranic terms, is ‘𝙞𝙗ā𝙙𝙖𝙝 (worship) of God. Worship means 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 and 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮. This humbling of oneself before the Almighty is an internal feeling that involves remembering God, expressing gratitude to Him, fearing His displeasure, devoting oneself to Him, showing trust in Him, submitting oneself and all of one’s affairs to Him, and pleasing Him at every step. In the external self, this humility and servility appears in the external manifestations of worship: kneeling, prostrating, glorifying and praising the Almighty, supplicating before Him and devoting life and wealth for His pleasure.
When worship prescribes metaphysical and ethical bases, determines rituals, and stipulates limits in order to fulfill the rights of the relationship between a servant and his Lord, then, in the terminology of the Quran, this is called “religion” (din). The form of this religion that the Almighty has explained to mankind through His prophets is called “the true religion” (din-al-haqq), and its followers are directed by the Quran to fully and faithfully adopt it in their lives and not create any divisions in it.
The metaphysical and moral bases of this worship, which have been prescribed by religion, are called al-Hikmah, and the rituals and limits prescribed for it by religion are called al-Kitab by the Quran. The latter is also called shariah, which means law.
Al-Hikmah has always remained the same in all revealed religions, but al-Kitab has remained different due to evolution and change in human civilizations and societies. A study of divine scriptures shows that shariah constitutes the major portion of the Torah, and hikmah generally constitutes the Injil. The Psalms are hymns that glorify the Almighty and are a forerunner to the hikmah of the Injil. The Quran was revealed as a masterpiece of literature comprising both shariah and hikmah, giving warning to those who evade it and glad tidings to those who follow it.
According to the Quran, the Almighty has revealed his books with prophets and messengers to judge between what is right and what is wrong, so that people can resolve their differences through them and adhere to justice regarding the truth.
The chain of prophets and messengers began with Adam (sws) and ended on Muhammad (sws). After his departure, divine revelation ceased and the institution of Prophethood was terminated. Consequently, the responsibility of indhār, to warn people to adhere to their religion now lies with the scholars of the ummah till the Day of Judgement.
When faith, in its essence, enters the heart and receives its confirmation from it, then on the very basis of its presence requires two things: righteous deeds and urging one another to the truth and urging one another to remain steadfast on it. All deeds which result once the morals of a person are purified are called righteous deeds. All their bases are found in human nature and intellect, and the sharī‘ah of God has been revealed to guide mankind towards these righteous deeds.
Urging one another to the truth and urging one another to remain steadfast on it relates to one’s immediate surroundings. This is an obvious requirement of accepting the truth and is also termed as al-amr bi al-ma‘rūf and nahī ‘an al-munkar by the Quran, implying the fact that a person should urge those in his surroundings to what is ma‘rūf (good) according to human nature and intellect and forbid them from what is munkar (evil).
If emotions, vested-interests and biases try to divert a person from justice in some worldly or religious matter, his faith requires him not only to adhere to justice but also if his witness is required in these matters, he should do so even at the expense of his life. He should uphold the truth by saying what is the truth and surrendering before it. He should adhere to justice and bear witness to it, and stick to it in his beliefs and deeds. This is called qiyām bi al-qist (adhering to justice) by the Quran.
The correct attitude which the followers of this religion should adopt is called ih-sān. It means to do something in the best possible way. It manifests itself when a person worships the Almighty while considering himself to be standing before God because if he is not able to see Him, at least He is observing him.
In conclusion, the purpose of the Religion is Akhirah (After life) and Tazkiyya (Purification) in ILM (knowledge)-o-AKHLAQ(Morals).
it is important for us as Muslims to understand and uphold the teachings of the Quran and the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (sws) in our daily lives. We must strive to do righteous deeds, urge one another towards the truth and justice, and adopt the correct religious attitude of ih-sān.
By doing so, we can hope to achieve success in this life and the hereafter.