- Punishment, Reward and Judgment:
These four linguistic meanings constitute the concept of the word deen in the
Qur’an where it implies a comprehensive system [ tawhid ] or way of life
comprising four parts:A. The rulership and authority that belong to Allah (S.W.T.).
B. The obedience and submission to this rulership and authority by those who
embrace this deen.
C. The comprehensive system (intellectual and practical) established by this
authority ( Allah ).
D. The reward given by this authority ( Allah ) to those that follow the system
and submit to it; and the punishment inflicted upon those who rebel against
it and disobey it.Therefore, if marriage is half the deen of Islam’s revealed requirements and
instructions for paying the levy – i.e., it is the institutional venue in which
Muslims are commanded to implement the comprehensive system of religion
as perfected by the prophet – then the toll road of marriage is therefore a holy
institution and should be treated as such. Furthermore, marriage can in no
way be avoided except for extenuating circumstances and exempt or ineligible
individuals. In addition to these considerations, the tawhid or unity of Islam’s
Deen is a continuum that allows no reduction to compartmentalized
intellectualism so stupidly beloved by post-enlightenment societies and those
who chase after the nikah trophies of post and post-post-modernism. This
means there is no avoiding conditions for paying this toll except at the risk of
eternal peril, which then indicates that those who bypass marriage with illicit
relations or treat the institution and spouse disrespectfully are in serious
trouble with God. In another frame of reference, failure in marriage is more
or less failure to implement Islam’s adab. However, this is not to say that
incompatible mates should remain bound to each other, for Islamic success is
found even in divorce when it is accomplished peacefully.
What then is the other half of Islam’s Deen? Even this half has everything to
do with marriage, as our persona is directly influenced by parents as well as
the extended family and community wherein we must learn the deen of Islam
- the inference being that the deen is 100% related to marriage because this
part of the deen is learning the deen from those practicing it, which is why