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Department of General Studies, 2007


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Worldview is an English translation of the

German term Weltanschauung.

It is rendered in Arabic as

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A comprehensive set of propositions aboutvarious aspects of the world.

A unified and comprehensive view of theworld around us and mans place within it.

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A worldview is the way the people within aspecified culture live, act, think, work andrelate. It is a map or cultures social,

religious, economic and political views andrelationships

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6

AACTIVATING

EVENT

BBELIEF

CCONSEQUENCE


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1. Helps to know peoples and culturescomprehensively

2. Helps us to interact with nature, individuals,peoples, nations, cultures and civilizations

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3. Helps us to correct our own values,perspectives, attitudes and behaviours

4. Helps us to formulate theories of politics,sociology, culture, etc.

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A worldview contains answers regardingbroad questions of "life understanding." Thesequestions are lifetime concerns and sources of

anxiety. They involve fundamental matters,expressed in the form of queries. Here are someexamples of ongoing human concerns:

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How far out does the universe go? Did it havea beginning and will it have an end?

How was it that we humans came about here

on earth? Does life have a purpose? If it does, what cangive meaning to my life?

Does my daily conduct matter in the long run? What happens to me at my death? What is good and what is bad? How can I

know the good and the bad? How should I be treating others? How can I know?

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Worldview influences all aspects of life

Some worldviews such as Islam cover allaspects of life including the personal, social,economic, political, cultural, civilizationbesides dealing with spiritual, moral, and

Aqidah issues. But there are other worldviews which focus

only on spiritual, material, social, or economicaspects of human life.

Any worldview should be able to answer theultimate questions not necessary correctanswers but at least consistent.

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Worldview

Religious Non-religious

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Atheism Materialism Rationalism scientism

Revealed andpreserved

Revealed butcorrupted

Man-made

SECULARISM


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Worldview

Philosophicalworldview

Religiousworldview

Scientificworldview

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It is based on the premises and findings ofscience,

Science is the source of all explanations

pertaining to the issues of creation, life, men,and other issues Based on 4 important foundations:

Materialism, logical positivism, empiricism,

skepticism

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A belief contending that senseperceptions are the only admissible

basis of human knowledge and thought


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Identify the problem or question throughobservation

Propose hypotheses and assumptions that

should explain the problem posed Collect data and information

Test the hypotheses. If any of hypotheses are

wrong

reject it, or modify it, or replace it untilyou get the correct one.

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If your hypotheses are correct. You accept and providea full explanation of the problem. Repeat the test in

similar situations and if the result is the same, thenyou may proceed to construct a scientific theory. Thelatter provides a consistent and rational explanation ofthe phenomenon or the problem. If this scientifictheory stands and resists many tests, then it becomes

scientific law.

The fact usually remains intact for long period of timebut they can be questioned with development ofhuman understanding and the new data and tool of

research. And once a fact is questioned the process ofresearch takes the same course as mentioned above.

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1.SENSE2.REASON

3. ________17


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Because it is based on experiment andempirical research, its findings are more exactand authentic and they can be verified throughusing statistic, mathematics, and measurement.

However, these exact results only apply to acertain part of our existence, the physical world.The scientific worldview cannot give us exact

and authentic knowledge or interpretation ofthe metaphysical world.

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Therefore, the scientific worldview is notcapable of providing comprehensive andconsistent explanation of the entire world.

The Scientific worldview is very important,because it allows human reason to exercise itsability and to produce knowledge in many

fields.

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The Scientific worldview also allows man todiscover many laws and pattern of God in theuniverse.

However, the scientific worldview passes its

limitation when it gives human senses andreason a role beyond their capacities. Inscientific worldview, Aql and senses becomethe only source of knowledge that can be

accepted; any other source including revelationcannot be accepted.

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Scientific worldview allowed the human mindto produce industries, sciences andtechnologies. It opened many ways for human

mind to exploit nature and discover its laws.

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However, the scientific worldview failed toprotect man and nature from destruction. One

of the main reasons of this attitude of scientificworldview is because it undermines the moral,ethical, and religious factors.

According to the scientific worldview, the only

sources of knowledge are reason, experiment,nature, senses, and human experience. It doesnot consider revealed knowledge as a source ofknowledge that can provide guidance topeople and answer their questions. In this

sense, the scientific worldview was unable todiscover the sense and role of morality inhuman life.

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The place of man in the mechanistic-materialistic viewis clearly portrayed by Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) inthe 1903:

The philosophy of nature is one thing, the philosophyof value is quite another.Undoubtedly we are part ofnature, which has produced our desires, our hopes andfears, in accordance with laws which the physicist is

beginning to discover. In this sense we are part ofnature, we are subordinated to nature, the outcome ofnatural laws, and their victims in the long run But inthe philosophy of values the situation is reversed Weare ourselves the ultimate and irrefutable arbiters ofvalues and in the world of value Nature is only a

partIn this realm we are the kings, and we debaseour kingship if we bow down to Nature. It is for us todetermine the good life, not for nature not even forNature personified as God.

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Therefore, the scientific worldview failed togive meaning to life and existence. It only givespower of controlling nature, but it lacks the

sense of meaning to our life. Therefore, thescientific worldview should adopt newapproaches which involve values, moralities,and ethics in the process of scientific research.

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It derives from philosophy and its means todeal with fundamental questions of life.

It uses logical reasoning, deduction, induction,

mathematic and speculation. The Philosophical worldview is more wider in

its scope than the scientific worldview. It dealswith issues of philosophical and metaphysicalworld.

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khusus umum


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It attempts to give a meaning tocreation and life. It does not have the exactnessof sciences but it instills in ourselves a senseand meaning.

Its results and findings are not precise and

measurable like scientific worldview

s but theyopen new ways for human beings to thinkbeyond their physical world.

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It is more comprehensive than the scientificworldview, because it deals with physical andmetaphysical realties.

If scientific worldview deals only with certainpart of the universe, the Philosophicalworldview deals with the entire existence andthe universe.

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Source of Knowledge

1. Senses

2. Reason

3. ______________

Advantageous & disadvantageous

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There is a universal spirit, god, deity or divineentity

This divinity has established an eternal moral

order that, in part at least, can be known tohuman beings

People have the duty to follow eternal moraldictates

This human conduct has long-term (beyondindividual death) significance.

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The Religious worldview considers both theworld of seen and unseen (ghayb). It iscomprehensive in its perception of the world. It

does not undermine any dimension of realityand existence

Its basis is on the scripture or sacred, revealed

or non-revealed text.

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It is more stable than the scientific andphilosophical worldview, in terms of having

certain and unchangeable principles of beliefand ethical system.

The Religious worldview in general imparts to

our life the sense of responsibility, meaning,and purpose. This means that life and theexistence has meaning and purpose. Therefore,it makes our life as a responsibility towards

God, and towards other creatures.

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Islamic worldview encompasses the issues of

universe, creator, prophethood, society, man,and hereafter.

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towards existence The view


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It is not a worldview that is formedmerely by amalgamation or historicalconcoction of various cultural values.

Rather, it is a well established frameworkderived from the revelation andinterpreted by Muslim scholarsthroughout Islamic history

amalgamation = combination or merging

concoction = creation

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This frame of reference providesus with correct and consistentanswers to the ultimate

questions pertinent to the issuesof God, unseen, man, universe,and life. It also guides man as a

vicegerent of Allah to the correctbelief system, shariah, andethical values.

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The worldview of Islamencompasses both al-dunya ( )

and al-akhirah ( ) in which thedunya aspect must be inextricablylinked to the akhirah aspect, and in

which the akhirah aspect has ultimateand final significance.

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The Conception:

of God;

of Revelation (i.e. the Quran);

of Gods Creation;

of man and the psychology of human soul;

of knowledge;

of religion

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of freedom;

of values and virtues;

and of happiness.

Al-Attas, . Ibid, 29

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To provide the Muslims with the trueknowledge and explanation about the world

seen and unseen as they are explained in theQura'n.

To teach people the way and method how toachieve the main values of Islam in human life.

To establish the fundamental ethical precepts,such as justice, freedom, trust, and dignity ofhuman life and existence.

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To protect the FIVE human interestknown as the five objectives of shariah(maqasid al-shariah), namely:

1. Protection of Religion (al-Din)

2. Protection of Self (al-nafs)

3. Protection of Reason (al-Aql)4. Protection of Lineage (al-nasab)

5. Protection of Wealth (al-mal)

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Most of the western perceptions of worldviewrely more on our existing reality, experienceand life. They dont give much consideration tothe issues related to the unseen world and

hereafter.

Most of the western perceptions of worldviewconsider it as assumption, but this is not true

from an Islamic perspective because in Islam,we consider it as a system and truth derivedfrom revelation.

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Most of the western perceptions of worldviewconsider it as a product of culture and

experience. According to them, religion itself isproduced by people and culture.

In the Muslim perspective, Islam or Islamic

worldview is not a cultural product of Arab,Indian, or Malay. It is rather derived from therevealed word of God without corruption andchange. This revelation is then understood byMuslims through their different cultural

backgrounds and experiences.

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worldview of Islam comprises both al-dunyaand al-Akhirah aspects, in which the dunya-aspect must be related profoundly to the

Akhirah-aspect, and in which the Akhirah-aspecthas ultimate and final significance.

On the basis of this epistemological andanthological premise, Al-Attas defines the

Islamic worldview as follows:

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Nor is it one that is formed gradually through a

historical process of philosophical speculationand scientific discovery, which must ofnecessity be left vague and open-ended forfuture change and alteration in line withparadigms that change in correspondence withchanging circumstances.

It is not a worldview that undergoes adialectical process of transformation repeatedthrough the ages, from thesis to anti-thesis thensynthesis

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1. SECULARISM2. MATERIALISM

3. POSTMODERNISM

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Materialism is a theory that physical matter isthe only or fundamental reality and that allbeings and processes and phenomena can beexplained as manifestations or results of

matter.

Materialism excludes the existence of entitiesthat are radically different from or superior to

the matter of our ordinary experience. In materialistic worldview, only mattermatters. Everything that is not physical andmaterial is not accepted.

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It rejects, therefore, the existence of God orgods on whom the universe would depend for

its existence or mode of operation; it denies theexistence of angels or spirit; it questions thenotion of a soul, if taken to be immaterial entityseparable, in principle, from the human body.

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Its two main targets are therefore theism anddualistic views of human nature.

It negates the existence of all that doesnt fallwithin the framework of change andtransformation and is not perceivable by senseorgans

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All knowledge of the world and of society

must be based on sense experience andultimately on science.

Like positivism, materialism lays stress on

science as the only legitimate source ofknowledge about the causalities of the world

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Belief that individuals are merely constructs ofsocial forces, that there is no transcendent truththat can be known; a rejection of any one

worldview or explanation of reality as well as arejection of the reality of objective truth.

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1. No absolute truthTruth is relative. The ONLY absolute truth is thatthere are no absolute truths (Feyerabend)All truth claims (by any worldview) are artificialconstructions.

2. No realityThere is no ultimate reality behind thingsWe see largely what want to see, what our positionin time and place allows us to see

3. Imagination and speculationKnowledge is not attained through learningEverything is only the products of our imagination

4. Meaningless and valueless.There is no meaning and value

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5. Total Doubt

Everything is doubtful

5. Multiplicities of truth, ethnicities, cultures

6. Equal representation for class gender sexualorientation

Conclusion:

PM has no principle at all.PM is anti all religion and all ideologies

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The English word secularderives from the Latinword saeculum, meaning this present age,this world of change as opposed to the

eternal religious world.

It is defined as the liberation of man fromreligious and metaphysical teachings, theturning of his attention away from otherworlds and towards this one.

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Disenchantment of nature freeing of nature from its religious overtones. Nature

is not a divine entity.

This provides an absolute condition for thedevelopment of natural science. However highlydeveloped a cultures powers of observation,however refined its equipment for measuring, noreal scientific breakthrough is possible until man can

face the natural world unafraid.

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Desacralization of politics

No one rules by divine right.

Significant political and social change is almostimpossible in societies in which the ruling regime isdirectly legitimated by religious symbols.

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Deconsecration (relativization)of values

The disappearance of securely grounded values

There are no longer the direct expression of thedivine will.

They have ceased to be values and have becomevaluations

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Islam: Salm or Silm, from which Islam derives its root,means submission, surrender, safety/protection andpeace.

As a religion, Islam stands for complete submissionand obedience to Allah. It is the religion of Allah(S.W.T) which is revealed to mankind.

It was so named by God. (Qur

an,:3

)

Yet islam as a total submission has been the name ofreligions brought by early Gods messengers.

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Islam also means peace and this signifies that one can achievereal peace of body and of mind only through submission andobedience to Allah. Such life of obedience brings in peace of theheart and established real peace in the society at large.

Every Muslim has to utter this word at least 5 times a day at theend of each of the five daily prayers.

Always every Muslim salutes one another with: al-Salamualaykum, meaning peace be unto you.

Not only in this world would the Muslim exchange this salutationbut also in the hereafter and Peace will be their greetingtherein (Quran, 10:10).

Allah (swt) calls into the abode of Peace (Quran, 10:25).

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Paradise is nothing but the abode of peaceThey shall not hear therein vain or sinful

discourses. Only the saying: Peace, Peace(Quran, 56:25-26).

Muslims are enjoined to enter into peace

wholeheartedly (Quran, 2:208).

In fact, the enjoinment of peace is not just

within the Muslims but extended to non-Muslim communities (Quran, 8:61)

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Iman is the state of security and safety that a personenjoys when he is attached to his creator

Technically: Iman is the belief in the main articles of the Islamic

faith: Believe in God and his attributes and names Believe in angels Believe in books Believe in prophethood Believe in hereafter Believe in predestination

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Everything we do should be put in Ihsan form,that is, in beautiful manner.

In Had'ith : ( )Ihsan means to worship Allah as if you seeHim, or if you dont see Him, He is seeing you.

It also means: to do, or worship Allah in themanner He likes.

To fear Allah and be certain that He is present,

and watching every deed, and everything onedoes.

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Ihsan in the Quranic context

(32:6-7). In this verse, if God does what is beautiful through creatingand making everything, including men, beautiful, then man

has the obligation to do what is beautiful particularly in hisrelation with Allah and with other creature.

Ihsan is everything in our life and in fact, when we

become Muhsinin, we become protectorate servants ofAllah (S.W.T). (16:128).

In this verse, Allah promises support to those whobeautify their deeds.

(2:195).This verse, Ihsan is related to Allah, to what we do in all ourlife.

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(29:69).

In this verse, Allah makes Ihsan as a condition forproviding guidance to us and showing us the rightpath, the right way and correct deed which willmake us successful in Dunia ( ) and Akhirah( ).

(4:125). In this verse, Ihsan is linked with the perfect and

correct religion the most perfect person in thereligion is the one who is Muhsin, meaning he doesthings in very beautiful manner.

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On the authority of Omar, who said : One day while we weresitting with the messenger of Allah there appeared beforeus a man whose clothes were exceedingly white andwhose hair was exceedingly black; no signs of journeyingwere to be seen on him and none of us knew him. Hewalked up and sat down by the prophet. Resting his knees

against his and placing the palms of his hands on histhighs, he said:"O Muhammed, tell me about Islam".

The messenger of Allah said: "Islam is to testify that there isno god but Allah and Muhammed is the messenger of

Allah, to perform the prayers, to pay the zakat, to fast inRamadhan, and to make the pilgrimage to the House ifyou are able to do so.

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He said:"You have spoken rightly", and we wereamazed at him asking him and saying that he had

spoken rightly. He said: "Then tell me about iman.

He said:"It is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books,His messengers, and the Last Day, and to believe indivine destiny, both the good and the evil thereof.

He said:"You have spoken rightly". He said: " Then tellme about ihsan.

He said: "It is to worship Allah as though you areseeing Him, and while you see Him not yet truly Hesees you".

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He said: "Then tell me about the Hour". He said: "The one questioned about it knows no better

than the questioner.

He said: "Then tell me about its signs. He said: "That the slave-girl will give birth to her

mistress and that you will see the barefooted, naked,destitute herdsman competing in constructing loftybuildings.

Then he took himself off and I stayed for a time. Thenhe said: "O Omar, do you know who the questioner

was?" I said: "Allah and His messenger know best". Hesaid: "He was Jibril (Gabriel), who came to you to teachyou your religion. (Muslim)

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Taqwa is perhaps the most important singleterm in the Quran.

And make provision for yourself; the best

provision is taqwa". (Quran, 2:197). Taqwa is one of the many words in Islamic

vocabularies whose exact equivalent cannot befound in English. It has been translated as "fear

of Allah", "piety", "righteousness","dutifulness" and "God-wariness",

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The word taqwa is derived from the Arabic root

(waqa), whose verb signifies to guard orprotect against something.

Taqwa has the sense of protecting oneself frommoral peril, preserving one's virtue, and

guarding oneself against the harmful or evilconsequences of ones conduct (and thus thedispleasure of the Almighty).

Taqwa is thus a kind of awareness orconsciousness by means of which one protectsoneself from sliding into evil.

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the Qur'an teaches that both the sinfultendency and taqwa are inspired into the soul of

man by Allah. This is not to say that Allahinspires us to be sinful.

One who has taqwa has warinessof associating others with Allah, wariness ofsin and evil, and even wariness of that which isdubious.

We learn from the Qur'an that the outwardobservance of ritual is not sufficient for taqwa.

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Taqwa thus seems to have practicalsocial and political implications. It is not a meditativestate which isolates one from the world, but a

provision for finding one's way through the world,which in its social and political dimensions requires

justice and fairness. Indeed, the historian, Marshall Hodgson. attributes the

success of early Islamic civilization not to favorable

economic conditions or military power. but to theTaqwa of the Muslims

The command issued to the believers "Ittaquallah", is acommand to be vigilant over oneself with awareness ofthe presence of Allah, a religious form ofthe admonition "Watch Yourself" directed to onewhose misbehavior is imminent.

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Divine nature of Islam Comprehensiveness

Universality

Moderation/Balance

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Its origin is from God

It is based on the concept of the unity of God

It was so named by God

It calls people to the unity of lordship ( ) ,unity of worship ( ) , and unity of namesand attributes ( ).

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It covers all aspects of life

It deals with spiritual and material aspects,

dunia ( )and akhirah ( ), seen andunseen, social, economic, political, and cultural,aspects of human life

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Islam contains many legislations with regard topersonal and social lives as well as national

and international aspects of human life. Itcovers Ibadah, transaction, relation betweenman and man, between man and God, betweenman and the universe

Comprehensiveness in belief system, ibadahsystem, and moral code.

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Hereafter

Vicegerency

(History/Culture/

Civilization)

Truth

Prophet Hood

Man

Life

Universe

God

Existenceof Seen & Unseen

Worlds

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Islam is not meant only for a particular groupof people or a particular period of time, but it isaddressed to all mankind, regardless of theirsocial strata, races, colors, languages, cultures,and civilizations.

There is a unity of religion within a diversityof cultures and ways of implementing theteaching of Islam.

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Human nature

Human needs

Belief system Ritual

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Islam is a religion that gives to each aspect ofhuman life its due without any imbalance or

exaggeration. The material, social, spiritual,cultural, and intellectual aspects of human lifeare treated in a balance manner.

Islam never asks people to focus only on thespiritual dimension or on the materialdimension of their life. But it puts eachdimension in its right place and legislates thenecessary instruction to fulfill and meet the

need of that particular dimension of human life.

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But seek, with the (wealth) which Allah hasbestowed on thee, the Home of the Hereafter, norforget thy portion in this world: but do thou good, asAllah has been good to thee, and seek not (occasionsfor) mischief in the land: for Allah loves not those

who do mischief."

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My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the worldsmost influential persons may surprise some readersand may be questioned by others, but he was the onlyman in history who was supremely successful on both

the secular and religious level. ...It is probable that therelative influence of Muhammad on Islam has beenlarger than the combined influence of Jesus Christ andSt. Paul on Christianity. ...It is this unparalleledcombination of secular and religious influence which I

feel entitles Muhammad to be considered the mostinfluential single figure in human history

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Literally Tawhid means "unification" (makingsomething one) or "asserting oneness. It comesfrom the Arabic verb (wahhada) which itselfmeans to unite, unify or consolidate. However,when the term Tawhid is used in reference toAllah it means the realizing and maintaining ofAllah's unity in all of man's actions whichdirectly or indirectly relate to Him.

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It is the belief that Allah is One, withoutpartner in His dominion and His actions(Rububiyyah), One without similitude in His

essence and attributes (Asmaa wa Sifaat), andOne without rival in His divinity and inworship (Uluhiyyah/'Ebadah).

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This category is based on the fundamental concept that

Allah alone caused all things to exist when there wasnothing; He sustains and maintains creation withoutany need from it or for it; and He is the sole Lord of theuniverse and its inhabitants.

It is the belief that there is only One God, who is thecreator of everything in the heaven and on the earth.

The belief that this creator is the sustainer ( ),manager of the affairs of the whole universe. He is theonly One who gives life and takes it away. He is All-

knowing. He is merciful and does what He wishes,because He is the creator of everything. Everyone isdependent on Him whether in heaven or earth.

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Allah created all things and He Is the agent onwhich all things depend."

al-Zumar 39:62

And Allaah created you all and whatever you

do

al-Saffat 37:96

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It is the belief in the unity of Allah's worship. He is theone, who deserves to be worshipped. He is the onewho sets the way how we worship Him and we shouldfollow His instruction and Shariah as He ordered and

instructed us to do.

All forms of worship must be directed only to Allahbecause He alone deserves worship, and it is He alonewho can grant benefit to man as a result of His

worship. Furthermore, there is no need for any form ofintercessor or intermediary between man and God.

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Allah emphasized the importance of directing worshipto Him alone by pointing out that this was the mainpurpose of man's creation and the essence of themessage brought by all the prophets. Allah says:

I created the jinn and humankind only that they mightworship Me (al-Dhariyiat 51:56)

"Verily, We have sent to every nation a messenger (saying),'Worship Allah and avoid false gods'.

'Do not worship besides Allah that which can not help or harmyou." al-Anbiya, 21:66

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It is the belief that God has attributes and names. Andone should worship Him and do supplication to Himusing His names and attributes. No one has the right totell us about His names, and attributes except Hismessengers who came to teach people the names and

attributes through using the revelation which Godsent to them.

We cannot imagine a God and give Him names andattributes such as the way of Arab before Islam made

idols and gave them names and attributes and worshipthem. This is not correct because only Allah can tell usabout this names and attribute.

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Allah must be referred to according to how Hedescribed Himself or how His Prophets havedescribed Him.

There is nothing like Him and He is hearerand seer of all. (42:11)

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Every Muslim should believe in the unity ofLordship, worship, and names and attributes.And if one denies one of them or all, he is

considered as unbeliever ( ).

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The study ofTawheed cannot be considered complete without

a careful analysis of its opposite, Shirk.

Shirk literally means partnership, sharing or associating,but Islamically it refers to the act of assigning partnersto Allaah in whatever form it may take.

Some modern Muslim scholars interpret the concept ofshirk to include all forms (kinds) of worshipping otherswith God, such as worshipping the material aspect oflife and fearing people more than God and associating

themselves in any act of Satan (Shaitan ).

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Every sort of worship of whim, prestige,position, money, or personality is shirk.

Because the sin of Shirk denies the very purposeof man's creation, it is to God the gravest of sins;the unforgivable sin.

"Surely Allah will not forgive the association ofpartners (Shirk) with Him, but He forgives (sins)less than that of whomever He wishes.

al-Nisa, 4:48

Because the sin of Shirk denies the verypurpose of man's creation, it is to God thegravest of sins; the unforgivable sin

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This category of Shirk refers to either the beliefthat others share Allah's Lordship over creationas His equal or near equal, or to the belief thatthere exists no Lord over creation at all.

Most religious systems fall into the first aspectof Shirk in Ruboobeeyah while it is thephilosophers who tend to fill the second aspect.

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(A) Shirk by Association

Beliefs which fall under this sub-category areones in which a main God or Supreme Being

over creation is recognized, however Hisdominion is shared by other lesser gods,spirits, mortals, heavenly bodies or earthlyobjects. Such belief systems are commonly

referred to by theologians and philosophers aspolytheistic (having more than one God).

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(B) Shirk by Negation

This sub-category represents the various philosophiesand ideologies which deny the existence of God eitherexplicitly or implicitly. That is, in some cases God's

non-existence is stated (Atheism), while in other casesHis existence is claimed, but the way in which He isconceived actually denies His existence (Pantheism).

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In this category of Shirk, acts of worship aredirected to other than God and the reward forworship is sought from the creation instead ofthe Creator.

As in the case of the previous categories, Shirkin al-Ibadah has two main aspects:

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This form of Shirk occurs when any act of worship isdirected to other than Allah. It represents the mostobvious form of idolatry which the prophets werespecifically sent by Allah to call the masses of mankindaway from. This concept is supported by Allah's

statement in the Qur'an:"Surely we have sent to every nation a messengersaying, worship Allaah and avoid Taghut (falsegods)"83

Taghut actually means anything which is worshipped

along with Allah or instead of Allah. For example, loveis a form of worship which, in its perfection, shouldonly be directed to Allah. In Islam, the love of God isexpressed by total obedience to Him

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The Prophet said: "The thing I fear for you themost is ash-Shirk al-Asghar (minor shirk)." Thecompanions asked "Oh! messenger ofAllah, what isminor Shirk?" He replied "Al-Riya (showing off),for verily Allah will say on the Day ofResurrectionwhen people are receiving their rewards, 'Go tothose forwhom you were showing off in the material

world and see if you can find any reward from them.

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Shirk in this category includes both thecommon pagan practice of giving Allah theattributes of His creation as well as the act ofgiving created beings Allah's names and

attributes It takes many forms. The most important are: To deny any names or attributes of God, or to

give to God other names and attributes, whichare not authorized by Shariah.

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When you make similarity between names andattributes of God and those of His creatures,

then you are committing an act of Shirk,because there is no similarity between thecreator and what he created.

when you describe God and attribute to Himsome human qualities like eating, drinking,marriage, having kids, being jealous of other,being injustice, this is considered another form

of Shirk.

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Kafara literally means to cover, to hide

something;

to ignore knowingly the benefitwhich one has received, and thence, to beunthankful.

The root KFR () has been used in the Quranin either of the two, but conceptually linked,basic meanings: ingratitude and disbelief.

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A K fi i h h i th i d


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A Kafir is a person who, having thus receivedGods benevolence, shows no sign of gratitude

in his conduct, or even acts rebelliously againsthis Benefactor. He covers the truth of Islam anddoesnt submit to the will of Allah.

He is the person who knows that Allah is the

creator, but he denies the unity of worship ofAllah ( ).

He is the person who acknowledges that God is

the creator, but he rejects to worship Allah andto follow his Shariah

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Sunnah here means pathway; it also stands forconsistency and order. So Sunnatullah meansGods customary way of acting

)77(

(This was Our) way with the messengers We sentbefore you: you will find no change in Our ways.

)62( (Such was) the practice (approved) of Allah among

those who lived aforetime: no change wilt thou find inthe practice (approved) of Allah.

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The Qur`anic concept of Sunnatullahemanates from the same source on whichsystem of the universe is constructed, i.e.

Divine justice. According to the Qur`an, theentire universe was created in extremelybalanced system and just order.

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Sunnatullah in this sense, means the absolute andeternal rule that God has prescribed for Himself to dealwith His creatures. Through this concept, the Qur`andraws human attention that God inevitably acts in thecreated world in certain ways which are recognizableby close observation in the natural phenomena as wellas in historical events. The Qur`an declares; That islaw of God (Sunnatullah), which has taken courseaforetime, you will not find any change for the law ofGod. Therefore, Sunnatullah prescribes kind ofuniversal and unchangeable rules that govern theuniverse and human history as well.

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This character of Sunnatullah establishes twomain methodological factors, with regard to theIslamic theory of knowledge:

First; physical world is fact; therefore, manshould acquire knowledge throughobservational and empirical methods.

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Second; human history is governed bysystematic patterns and rules recognizable tothe human intellect, thus, a sustainable

civilization can be established only withconsideration of these patterns, which can bediscovered upon critical examination ofdisintegrated civilizations and knowledge of

reasons that were behind their rise and fall.

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However, Sunnatullah does not describedetails of natural laws, such as law whichprescribes certain medicine to certain disease,

because all that can be discovered by humanintellect. Instead, it provides principles ofscience, based on a holistic vision of the world.

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Sunnatullah is categorized based on two main

domains: nature (fq ) and human (Anfus ).

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1. Sunnatullah in the natural phenomena, whichis termed by the Qur`an as Ayatul Aafaq, isalso known as Sunan Kawniyyah (universal

laws), because it includes the most generallaws that govern the cosmic order, such ascreation of everything in pairs (Zawjiyyah) andcreation of everything in precise measures.

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2. The second type, with consideration to itssubject matter, is Sunnatullah in humandomain which is introduced by the Qur`an asAyatul Anfus, means Gods signs within

human self.

This type can be understood in two integrativesenses: Sunnah that governs human behaviorat individual level, and that which governs

human society.

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Standards of this classification, initially,provide relevant ground to hold that,universality of Divine custom does not

necessarily means unity of the order in eitherdomain, i.e. human and non-human.

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In other words, characteristics of patterns thatgovern human history and civilization are notnecessarily similar to laws which rule the

natural phenomena. Morality, whichcharacterized by free choice and responsibility,is obviously the relevant criteria for thisdivision.

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1. Generality

2. Permanence

3. Predictability

4. Exactness

5. Diversity

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]:43[

But no change wilt thou find in Allah's way (ofdealing): no turning off wilt thou find in Allah's way(of dealing).

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God created nature and then assigned to eachheavens its duty and command:

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