intended for the group the members of which are not competing
but wholeheartedly co-operating with one another. The Qur'an calls
upon man to join such a co-operative group organised on the basis
of justice and for the purpose of achieving a lofty ideal. Only as a
member of this group, can man carry out the programme of the
Rububiyyah and thereby work out his destiny. Individual man
possesses immense potentialities, but these can be actualised only in
a favourable social milieu and through co-operation with congenial
companions. Membership of a group held together by mutual
sympathy and understanding, and inspired by a high ideal is the
guarantee of self-development. The Rububiyyah Order provides
such a group and summons man to join it by giving up all narrow
personal ends and dedicating himself to the common goal. In such a
group, man can realise himself by serving others and gladly availing
himself of their help. Human personality shrinks and contracts
through preoccupation with its own interests. It expands and
blossoms by subordinating its interests to the broader interests of
mankind. The practical programme of the Rububiyyah Order can be
implemented only by a group and by the individual as a member of
the group. Fulfilment of personality is possible only in a group, for
an isolated man has no opportunity for self-sacrifice and for serving
others. The sweep for his activities is too short to influence self-
development. Membership of a group is only conducive to this, but
not all groups provide this opportunity. Only that one offers the
right environment which places no curb on the independence of its
members, nor menaces in any way their freedom of thought and
action. This individual privilege is secured, to start with, by throwing
the membership open to a voluntary act. The individual makes a
contract with the group, taking upon himself defined obligations in
return for defined rights. The result of this social contract is the
state, generally known to the Muslims as Khilaafat. Khilaafat or state is
the political and executive organ of the Ummah, the framework for
the Order of Rububiyyah. The Ummah, through the agency of the
Khilaafat, launches the Divine programme and provides every
member with propitious opportunity for self-expression and self-
development. Man, according to the Qur'an, is expected to enter
into a contract with God. He is invited to place his life and his
possessions at His disposal in return for Jannah – the state of perfect
Islam: A Challenge to Religion 187