life.
- Deen :This word has been used in various senses, among
them being: ascendancy, sovereignty, management or conduct of
affairs, ruling power, power of dominion, mastership, ownership,
possession or exercise of power, code of law, constitution of a state
(in modern terminology), law of requital, and order in which
consequences of human actions can be measured, obedience,
subjection, a way, course, mode, manner or conduct of life. Deen
would be all these aspects taken together.
Now, the Qur’an has described Islam as ad-deen, which is generally
translated in English as religion. In the light of the meanings given
above, however, it should be clear that this supposed English
equivalent is not only incorrect but distorts and vitiates the true
significance of deen. Islam is not a religion; in the entire text of the
Qur’an it has not been described even once as a religion (madhhab).
Islam is in fact a way of life, a social system, a polity, a code of law. In
the context of the external universe, Islam signifies the Divine
Order that governs the life and movement of the entire universe.
The whole aim and purpose of the Qur’an is the establishment of a
universal order founded upon the Divinely-ordained values of life.
This is ad-deen. - Hajj: is the annual congregation of delegates of the Islamic
community where they discuss the problems facing mankind and
seek their solution in the light of the Divine Laws. The real purpose
of this congregation is the creation of a universal brotherhood of
men – which offers the only solution to the present difficulties of
mankind. - Haqq : a very comprehensive Qur’anic term. It is usually
translated in English as truth or right, but it has in fact a much wider
connotation.
According to Lane, its primary signification is suitableness to the
requirements of wisdom, justice, right or rightness, truth, reality or
fact; or to the exigencies of the case, as the suitableness of the foot
of a door in respect of its socket for turning round rightly; the state,
or quality, or property of being just, proper, right, correct or true.
The state of being established or confirmed as a truth or fact.
Everlasting existence. Valid, substantial or real. Existing as an
established fact so as to be undeniable.
Islam: A Challenge to Religion 22