The Islam: The Deen-e-Fitrah
A Universal Perspective on Islam

Looking at the world today with all its complex problems and the mayhem ensuing the separate attempts of diverse groups among humanity, at their solution, one is compelled to seek the Truth. The ageless questions surrounding the human reality plague consciousness more than ever today, when man is at the brink of self-destruction through the accelerating force of darkness versus light, ignorance versus wisdom, hate versus love, anger versus compassion, and finally separatism versus unity. The fundamental question remains: What is the scope of unity in a world of diversity?

Islam has somehow arrived at the helm of world discord today. It is perplexing for a Muslim to see that for his/her faith is truly nothing but peace. How has this happened and why is there rising mistrust against Muslims from people of other belief systems? The reasons are many and varied. The most obvious ones as I see them are though, the misunderstanding of Islam by its followers and hence all others; secondly, the mixing up of political, cultural and personal agendas with religious injunctions.

In order to understand to some extent the nature of our problem and a proposed interpretation of its solution I will be going through a set of related issues, factors and shedding light on them by reverting to corresponding signs present in the Quran, the holy revelatory text of Islam.

To begin with, I would like to introduce the reader to the actual meaning of the term "Islam". "Islam" comes from the word "salaam" which literally means "peace". The derived meaning of the word "Islam" becomes surrender or submission to the Will of the One Supreme Being. This One Supreme Being has been referred to in different times and by separate communities, by names and terms originating in their specific culture and language. This diversity of nomenclature does not by any means divide the Being into multiple forms or entities. This is the key to recognizing the unity underlying diversity. Hindus call upon the Supreme One as Brahma, Buddhists refer to It as Anatha or Nothingness, Christians as God, Jews as Yahweh, and Muslims as Allah, along with many other appellations existing in the remaining cultures of the world. Islam truly means the perfect peace that comes when one’s life is surrendered to God. It is the ultimate acknowledgement by the human consciousness of submitting to the One and Only, Greatest Power and Force in existence. Human weakness and shortcomings testify to the presence of a Power and Reality that transcend its limitations. Therefore the Holy Quran says in Surah 30, Verse 30, "So set thy face steadily and truly to the Faith [Deen-e-Hanifan], as one of nature upright, the nature framed of Allah, in which he hath created man. There is no altering the law of Allah’s creation. That is the standard religion." Now we come to the dual discussion that of the "Deen-e-Hanifan" and the other of the nature framed by Allah. The word "deen" is translated to mean a way of belief. The word "madhab" is what generally refers to an organized religious system. What is interesting to note is that the word "madhab" does not come to be used in the whole Quran. Whenever Allah speaks about His Path, Way or Belief-System, He refers to it as the deen. Wherever a partisan allegiance is spoken of, it is referred to as "hizb", "shiat"etc. The deen approved by Allah has been referred to by two names in the Quran; one is the "Deen-e-Hanifan", and the other is "Al-Islam". The word "hanif" means pure and free from adulteration in faith. The term originated with the patriarch and Prophet Abraham [may the peace of God be upon him]. The Quran relates a beautiful parable of the self-dialogue of the Prophet Abraham, through which gradually he arrives at the ultimate stage of pure and perfect realization. Traversing the various levels of consciousness, and passing through stages of postulation and rejection, Prophet Abraham finally surrenders to the transcendence of the Divine and commits himself to that Supreme Being which is The One and Only and Above All Force behind the entirety of creation. God refers to his realization as that of pure faith, "the deen-e-hanifan". In the Quran it is said of him repeatedly that he was the founder of the pure faith and mankind is asked to follow his example by surrendering its will to The Supreme Being. It is asked of mankind not to be of the idolaters but infact be the ones supporting the true faith, that of their patriarch Abraham. During the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad [may the peace of God be upon him], there was a following in the Arabian peninsula of a creed known by the term "hanif", All those who rejected idol-worship and were dissatisfied with the other existent practices of religion would refer to themselves as the hanif. They were the ones who sought purity in faith and turned away from all that was superstitious and mistrustful in religion. Before receiving the Quranic revelation and office of prophecy, the Holy Prophet Muhammad [p.b.u.h] aligned himself to this creed.

Now coming to the second point in discussion, that of "Al-Islam" or the religion of surrender, I would like to inform the reader of the two contexts that the term is used in. One is in the generic sense that the term is used. For instance it refers to a state of submission or surrender to the Supreme Being or a Higher Force. Secondly, it has also come to be synonymous with the Way of Prophet Muhammad [p.b.u.h]. Therefore the particular way of life and worship bequeathed to mankind by the example of the Prophet Muhammad [p.b.u.h] is "Islam" or the Way of Islam. This is the "trademark" Islam as we know it; a specific form of it. In the Holy Quran one finds verses in which the Prophet Muhammad [p.b.u.h] is being exhorted by the Almighty to follow the belief of Abraham as that is the right faith. Additionally he [p.b.u.h] is also given a Law which is the embodiment of the particular Way of Islam shown to the Prophet and given to mankind. The Prophet Muhammad [p.b.u.h] is called a universal messenger in the Quran. Surah 34, verse 28 of the Holy Quran says, "We have not sent thee but as a universal messenger to men, giving them glad tidings, and warning them against sin, but most men understand not." The Deen-e-Islam is called the universal faith for it is this surrender to the Divine that is the true focus of every real faith. In the Quran we are told that this is the nature on which Allah has fashioned man and all of creation. "Fitrah" is the term in Arabic for nature. In the above mentioned reference of Surah 30,verse 30 of the Quran we are being told to commit ourselves to the pure faith [deen-e-hanifan] which establishes Allah’s handiwork according to the pattern [the fitrah or nature] on which He has created mankind. Then it is said that this is the "deen-ul-qayyimu" or the established, standard way of belief with Allah. In Surah 2, verse 19, it is said " Lo! Religion with Allah is The Surrender to His Will and Guidance." "Inna Deena Indillahi Islam".

In Surah 2, verse 132, it is said, "The same did Abraham enjoin upon his sons, and also Jacob saying : O my sons! Lo! Allah has chosen for you the true deen, therefore die not save as ones who have surrendered unto Him. {Muslimeen}."
In verse 112 of the same surah it is said, " And they say none entereth paradise unless he be a Jew or a Christian. These are their own desires. Say : bring your proof if you are truthful. Nay but whosoever surrendereth his purpose to Allah while doing good, his reward is with His Lord; and there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve."

By careful study of these verses we attain the drift of the revelation which is stressing the significance of surrender to the Will of the Divine as the only way of belief that is true and acceptable to the Supreme Being. There is no narrow categorization of the term "Muslim", but all those who " surrendereth his [their] purpose to Allah" are the rightly guided and comprise the group among mankind designated as believers. Here I would also like to add that the two basic categories that Allah divides mankind into in the Quran are that of believers and non-believers. Believers have never been referred to only as those who follow a specific mode of Islam. All those who have subdued there self-will before the Divine Will and have adopted the path of righteousness are termed as believers. The ones who have professed faith in the Supreme Being, in the Hereafter, in the Prophets, and All Revealed Scriptures, the Angels and the Unseen, and the Supreme Being’s Power to Decree, have attained true belief. Does this not imply that people of all faiths with the intention and the belief to worship only The One True Being, without ascribing any partnership to Its Sovereignty, comprise the group of believers? In Surah 3, verse 103, it is said "And hold fast, all of you together, to the cable of Allah, and do not separate." In Surah 23, verse 52-53, it is said " Verily this your Order is One Order, and I am your Lord so fear Me. But they [mankind] then divided up their order into different creeds, each section rejoicing in what it had come to have." In Surah 6, verse 159, Allah warns, " As for those who divide up their belief and break up into sects,thou hast no part in them in the least: their affair is with Allah: He will in the end tell them the truth of all that they did." From this it becomes abundantly clear that Allah proclaims the unity and equality of mankind before Himself apart from the division or discrimination on the basis of belief and disbelief. In doing so He also tells mankind that the Order or System devised for its living and functioning is One Order. Those who have come to divide themselves on the basis of caste,creed,colour and personal identifications, considering only that which has come to them as the right and perfect way, have deviated from the True Path of Allah. The only criterion of discrimination before Allah is piety. Allah encourages mankind to vie with one another in good works and not to support evil and dissension.

While reading the Quran one is struck by the apparent extraordinariness of the fact that all the prophets mentioned have been referred to as Muslims. One would ask, but how is it that these people are addressed as Muslims when the religion of Islam as we know it had not been revealed until then? Well the question itself holds the key to the answer., and that is that Islam is not limited to any temporal, spatial, regional, cultural or national boundary. Islam is a way of being and anyone, anywhere in the world can be a Muslim. It is therefore a universal deen or faith as it requires only one thing and that is submission of the individual will to the Supreme Will of God. This Supreme Will of God is manifested and embodied in the way of the messengers and prophets of Allah. The way of the prophets cannot be in conflict with each other as Allah has firmly stated, "your order is one order". The Universal Law of Reciprocity is the Law of Nature. The religion of Allah teaches you to do unto others as you would have done unto yourself. The Universal Revelation is the Book of Nature. The Word of God teaches us that there are signs pointing toward true knowledge that have been spread out in the universe and also within the own being of man. Only if he were to reflect. The Only Being worthy of worship is the One and Only True Power governing all of existence. The Common Messenger is the One and Only True Voice of Guidance that has reverberated throughout history through the channels of the awakened and purified consciousness that took on different forms and came to be known as various personages in separate eras.

If we are able to recognise the value and true import of the precious revelation that has come to us from the Pinnacle of Being, then we can hope to put an end to this mindless bickering and futile battling that has rent our human family asunder and is fast leading us to a state of utter bankruptcy in our own humanness.

Islam is not something to fear. Islam is not something to reconcile with. Islam is not an alien religion or culture. Islam, my friends, is the reality of your own natures. It is inherent in your being. Just open the eyes of your hearts and see: In your love for humanity and life, in your uprightness of character, in your support of Truth, in your fight for justice, in your realization of your helplessness before the Divine Power, are you not all Muslims? [The ones who are in loving surrender to the Will and Guidance of the One Master of our collective conscience].

By Naila Amat-un-Nur

October 2006