An explanation of
two words: Din (دين) and Islaam (اسلام)
By:
Shahid Bin Waheed شاهد
بن وحيد
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
الحمدلله رب العالمين والصلوة والسلام على اشرف الانبياء
وسيدالمرسلين نبينا محمد صل ا لله عليه وعلى آله واصحابه وازواجه اجمعين - امابعد
All the praises and thanks be to Allaah, Sustainer of the Universe, and blessing and salutation to be the most distinguish of the Messengers and foremost among the Prophets, our Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allaah be on him and on his wives, children and Companions.
In this treatise we will inSha Allaah, provide the explanation of the two words Din (دين) and Islaam (اسلام) according to Islamic aqeedah based on Glorious Qur’aan and Sunnah.
The word Din (دين) has more than one meaning in the Arabic language, one of them being ‘the way’. In the terminology of the Qur’aan, the word Din (دين) is used to stand for principles and injunctions that are common to all Prophets from Adam عليه السلام to the last of the Prophets and Seal of the Messengers Muhammad صلی الله عليه وسلم. The words, ‘Shariah (شريعه) or al-Minhaj’ (المنهاج) or the word, ‘Madhhad’ (مذهب) from among the later-day terms, are used to cover subsidiary injunctions, which have been different during ages and different communities. The Glorious Qur’aan says in 42:13,
شَرَعَ لَكُم مِّنَ الدِّينِ مَا وَصَّى بِهِ نُوحا...ً
Allaah made you follow the same religion with which He bound Nûh…
This Ayah tells us that the Din
(دين) of All our blessed Prophets was one and the same.
Now the real meaning of the word Islaam (اسلام) is to submit oneself to Allaah, and be obedient to all of His commands. Given this meaning, those who believed in the Prophets and Messengers of their time and were obedient to the commands of Allaah, they brought to them, were all entitled to be called Muslims, and their religion was Islaam. It was in this sense of the word that Nûh عليه السلام said:
وَأُمِرْتُ أَنْ أَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ …
…I have been commanded that I be from among Muslims. (Qur’aan 10:72)
Also Prophet Ibraheem عليه السلام described himself and his community as Muslims when he said:
… رَبَّنَا وَاجْعَلْنَا مُسْلِمَيْنِ
لَكَ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِنَا أُمَّةً مُّسْلِمَةً لَّكَ
Our Lord, make us Muslims, the submitting one to Thee, and from our progeny a community of Muslims submitting to Thee. (Qur’aan 2:128)
وَاشْهَدْ بِأَنَّا مُسْلِمُونَ …
…And bear witness that we are Muslims (Qur’aan 3:52)
There are other applications
and/or implications of these two words as well, but that is not the scope of our
discussion for now. The objective of this treatise is to educate the readers
with the meanings and broader application of these two words. Non-Muslim
readers can now have a better understanding of Muslims assertions and/or claims
that previous Prophets and/or their true followers were all Muslims.
The Glorious Qur'aan Surah: 42. Shura Verse: 13 Juz: 25
Revealed: Makkah
شَرَعَ لَكُمْ مِنَ الدِّينِ مَا وَصَّى
بِهِ نُوحًا وَالَّذِي أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ وَمَا وَصَّيْنَا بِهِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ
وَمُوسَى وَعِيسَى أَنْ أَقِيمُوا الدِّينَ وَلَا تَتَفَرَّقُوا فِيهِ كَبُرَ
عَلَى الْمُشْرِكِينَ مَا تَدْعُوهُمْ إِلَيْهِ اللَّهُ يَجْتَبِي إِلَيْهِ مَنْ
يَشَاءُ وَيَهْدِي إِلَيْهِ مَنْ يُنِيبُ
He (Allâh) has ordained for you
the same religion (Islâmic Monotheism) which He ordained for Nûh, and that
which We have revealed to you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم), and that which We ordained for Ibrâhîm,
Mûsâ and ‘Îsâ saying you should establish religion (i.e. to do what it orders
you to do practically), and make no divisions {1} in it (religion) (i.e. various
sects in religion). Intolerable for the Mushrikûn, {2} is that (Islamic Monotheism) to
which you [O Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم] call them. Allâh chooses for Himself whom
He wills, and guides unto Himself who turns to Him in repentance and in
obedience.
{1} (V.42:
13) See the footnote of (V.3: 103).
{2} (V.42: 13) Mushrikun: Polytheists,
pagans, idolaters, and disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah, those who worship
others along with Allah or set up rivals or partners to Allah.
The revelation of the Glorious
Qur’aan was not an accident, an un-connected episode in the history of mankind.
According to the Qur’aan, Islaam existed since the beginning though the
previous followers after going astray gave it names which are not Divine and
neither they were inspired in such cases, which in its original purity, was the
religion of Islaam (submission to the will of God and to make peace with God and
mankind). Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, Isa and all other prophets (PBUT) were sent for
the guidance of their respective people. The Glorious Qur’aan repeatedly claims
to be in confirmation with the truth of all faiths as the Qur’aan defines the
true Believers:
The Glorious Qur'aan, Surah: 2. Baqarah Verse: 4 Juz: 1
Revealed: Madinah
وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ مِنْ
قَبْلِكَ وَبِالْآخِرَة هُمْ يُوقِنُونَ ِ
And who believe in (the Qur’ân
and the Sunnah) {1} which has been sent down
(revealed) to you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) and in that which was sent down before
you (the Taurât and the Injeel, etc.) and they believe with certainty in the
Hereafter. (Resurrection, recompense of their good and bad deeds, Paradise and
Hell).
{1} (V.2: 4) Narrated Ibn ‘Umar رضي الله عنه: Allâh’s Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم said: Islâm is based on (the following)
five (principles): 1. To testify that " Lâ ilâha illallâh wa anna Muhammad-ur-Rasûl Allâh " (none has
the right to be worshipped but Allâh and that Muhammad صلى
الله عليه وسلم is the
Messenger of Allâh). 2. Iqâmat-as-Salât: to perform the five (compulsory
congregational) Salât (prayers). 3. To
pay Zakât 4. To perform Hajj (i.e. pilgrimage
to Makkah). 5. To observe Saum (fasting) during the month of Ramadan.
(Sahih
Al-Bukhâri, Vol. 1, Hadith No. 7).
The Glorious Qur’aan, therefore, not only recognizes the
truth of all previous Divine Books and Prophets, but also makes it obligatory
for Muslims to believe in the Divine origins of their teachings and thus it
takes an effective step to promote peace and harmony with the followers of
other religions. The Glorious Qur’aan does not, however, mention all the
Prophets by their names as it says:
The Glorious Qur'aan, Surah: 40. Ghaafir Verse: 78 Juz: 24
Revealed: Makkah
وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلًا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ مِنْهُمْ مَنْ قَصَصْنَا
عَلَيْكَ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ لَمْ نَقْصُصْ عَلَيْكَ وَمَا كَانَ لِرَسُولٍ أَنْ
يَأْتِيَ بِآيَةٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ فَإِذَا جَاءَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ قُضِيَ
بِالْحَقِّ وَخَسِرَ هُنَالِكَ الْمُبْطِلُونَ
And, indeed We have sent
Messengers before you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) of some of them We have related to you
their story. {1} And of some We have not related
to you their story, and it was not given to any Messenger that he should bring
a sign except by the Leave of Allâh. But, when comes the Commandment of Allâh,
the matter will be decided with truth, and the followers of falsehood will then
be lost.
{1} (V.40:
78) There are many Prophets and Messengers of Allâh. About twenty-five of them
are mentioned in the Qur’an; out of these twenty-five, only five are of strong
will, namely: Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم, Nûh, Ibrâhîm, Mûsâ, and ‘Îsâ - son of
Maryam عليهم السلام.
Thus, the Qur’aan requires not
only belief in Divine revelations to the Prophet of Islaam, but also belief in
Divine revelation to all the Prophets sent to all nations of the world in all
the times. This is one of the matters relating to faith (Eemaan) and a fundamental
principle of Islaam. This broad doctrine is taught repeatedly in the Glorious
Qur’aan (see 3:184; 13:4).
Some opponents of the
Glorious Qur’aan say that Muhammad صلى الله عليه
وسلم wrote the Qur’aan or
had it written as an imitation of the Bible or other Scriptures. This attitude
is as thoughtless as saying Isa (PBUH) himself duped his contemporaries by
drawing inspiration from the Hebrew Scriptures or of the Buddha during his
preaching. The whole of Matthew's Gospel is based on the continuation of the
Old Testament and Talmud. These faultfinders are blind to the fact that the
source of all Divine Scriptures is the same God.
Islaam is not new faith founded
by the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم but it is the same religion, which was
taught by all the Prophets, from Adam to Isa (PBUT)[cf.. 22:78], as we are
commanded in the Glorious Qur’aan (3:84):
قُلْ آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ
عَلَيْنَا وَمَا أُنْزِلَ عَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ
وَالْأَسْبَاطِ وَمَا أُوتِيَ مُوسَى وَعِيسَى وَالنَّبِيُّونَ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ لَا
نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِنْهُمْ وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ
Say (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم): "We believe in Allâh and in what has been sent down to us, and what was sent down to Ibrâhîm, Ismâ‘îl, Ishâq, Ya‘qûb and Al-Asbât (the offspring of the twelve sons of Ya‘qûb) and what was given to Mûsâ, ‘Îsâ and the Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between one another among them and to Him (Allâh) we have submitted (in Islâm)."
Sunday, July 10, 2005