Islām: The Concept of Religion and the Foundation of Ethics and Morality (Comprehensive Notes)

Din and Islām: The Concept of Religion and the Foundation of Ethics and Morality

• Clarification of terms

  • Islām is often translated as “religion” in English, but the term din encompasses a broader, more integrated concept rooted in the Arabic language and reflected in the Qur’ān.
  • Din derives from the Arabic root DYN and holds four primary significations that interconnect to form a unified, coherent meaning: indebtedness, submissiveness, judicous (just) power, and natural inclination or tendency.
  • In Islamic, lived reality, these meanings are not vague contradictions but reflect aspects of human nature and social life, harmonized in the Religion of Islām.

• Four primary significations of din (summary)

  • 1) Indebtedness (dayn): one is under obligation to law, order, and the creditor, forming the basis for civil and social life.
  • 2) Submissiveness (yadn): yielding to law, ordinances, and authority; includes the idea of servitude to God and to divine order.
  • 3) Judicious power (dayyān): the authority of judge, ruler, or governor; connected to governance and social refinement.
  • 4) Natural inclination or tendency (fitrah/custom): the habitual disposition of humans to form societies, obey laws, and seek just government.
  • These connotations, while distinct, are conceptually interrelated and together denote the faith, beliefs, and practices adhered to by Muslims individually and collectively as the Ummah.

• Din as a bridge between secular and religious life

  • In secular contexts, din’s four significations map onto civilizational development: debt leads to social order; governance arises; civilization (tamaddun) grows; and a customary, habitual life forms a society’s normal mode of acting.
  • The same din, in religious context, syntheses these meanings through the relationship between humans and God and between humans and fellow humans.

• The relationship between din and madīnah (the city) and the concept of civilization

  • The verb dāna (to be in debt) is conceptually linked to madīnah (city) and its administration (dayyān, judge) and to madā’in (towns, cities).
  • This linkage highlights civilized living: law, order, justice, and authority embedded in social and political life.
  • The term tamaddun (civilization and refinement) derives from the same root family, illustrating how debt, governance, and cultural refinement are interconnected in Islam.
  • The historical example: Yathrib’s change of name to al-Madinah (the City, City of the Prophet) marks the realization of true din; it becomes the locus where din is enacted under the Prophet’s authority and kinship with God’s sovereignty. The City is both the social order of Islām and a symbol of the Believer’s body, where the rational soul governs the body under divine authority.

• The practical implication: Din as return to God and as the natural tendency toward submission

  • The debt of creation and existence: humans owe their existence to God, who created and sustains them. Even in mature life, humans cannot repay God with their own resources; all that exists is owned by God.
  • Qur’ānic reminder: “Verily man is in loss (khusrin).” (Al-‘Asr, 103:2).
  • The “return” (uwwida) to God reflects a spiritual and ethical orientation: to return to one’s inherent nature (fitrah) through submission and obedience to God’s will.
  • The maxim: “He who enslaves himself (dāna nafsahu) gains” (al-Kiṣṣ al-Mu’minin hadith) links self-subjugation to spiritual and moral gain.

• The Covenant with God and the concept of tawhid (Oneness) and din

  • Human beings are addressed by God in creation’s origin: the covenant where souls attest to God as their Lord, even before bodily existence. This covenant underlies the Qur’ānic assertion that man is created for God’s service.
  • The concept of din includes the idea of restitution of the self to its Owner, through obedience and surrender to God’s law (sharī‘ah).
  • The Qur’ānic formula: God asks, “Am I not your Lord?” and the souls answer, “Yea, we do testify!” (cf. Al-A‘rāf 7:172).
  • Submission (aslama) is the form in which belief is enacted; Islām is the form of din in which submission is total and voluntary to God’s will.

• The nature of submission, freedom, and the right form of religious life

  • True din is submission (istislām) to God’s Will, enacted through obedience to Shari’ah (Divine Law). It is not just belief but action and lifestyle.
  • The Qur’ān states: “There is no compulsion in religion” (Lā ʼikrāha fī-l-dīn) to emphasize voluntary, wholehearted submission, even in the face of diverse religious forms; conversion and practice should come from conviction rather than coercion. It also clarifies that even belief without surrender can be insufficient.
  • The best din is Islām, i.e., complete submission of the self to God in thought, word, and deed.
  • Other religions represent forms of submission influenced by diverse traditions, but Islām embodies the perfected form of submission—the form revealed to the Prophet Muḥammad (may God bless him and give him peace).
  • The millah (religious mode) of Islām follows the millah of Ibrahim (Abraham) and the Prophets after him; it is “the right religion” (din al-qayyim) toward which others incline in anticipation of Islām. Some communities (e.g., People of the Book) mix tradition with revelation, which can result in unwilled submission.

• The two kinds of submission and the concept of reform

  • The unwilled submission is not true faith; it is related to arrogance, disobedience, and rebellion and may result in kufr (disbelief).
  • The prophetic model provides the perfected form of submission, which all Prophets followed before Muḥammad and which Muḥammad embodies for humanity.
  • The idea that “There should be no compulsion in religion” supports a non-coercive, voluntary submission to God’s will.

• The Islamic worldview: din as a cosmology and social order

  • Islām is a complete way of life that integrates belief (īmān) with submission (islām) in a way that is both individual and communal.
  • The social order of Islām is the Kingdom of God on earth, with God as the King; humans are khalīfah (vicegerents) entrusted with amānah (trust) to govern according to God’s will.
  • The self is directed to loyalty (ta’ah) to God, both personally and within the community.
  • The Prophet Muḥammad is the perfect model (uswa hasanah) for all Muslims; his life embodies Islām’s values and serves as the guiding pattern for generations.

• The cosmopolis metaphor: commerce, trade, and personal capital

  • The cosmopolis is a dynamic trading city where every Muslim is both subject and object of trade (al-tijārah): the self is the capital, and gains or losses depend on responsible use of freedom and adherence to din.
  • Terms from commercial life appear as ethical metaphors: bay‘ah (pledge), ishtara (to buy), rabiḥa l-tijārah (profit), mā rabiḥa l-tijārah (loss).
  • The self’s ownership is conditional; the “loan” of life to humans is a form of service to God, which will be returned with interest according to divine ordinance.

• The concept of the soul and the self in Islam

  • Humans possess two souls:
  • al-nafs al-nātiqah (the rational, higher soul).
  • al-nafs al-hayawaniyyah (the animal, lower soul).
  • The rational soul should govern and subdue the animal soul; this internal subjugation is a form of din and Islām in the inner life.
  • The Prophet Muḥammad’s exhortation to “Die before you die” expresses the aim of subduing the lower self to the higher self, i.e., returning to one’s true nature and Allah.

• The self, the Covenant, and the path to peace (adl and iḥsān)

  • The aim of ethics in Islām is justice (adl) realized through the harmony between the self and the self, and between the self and God.
  • In Islām, justice is not just interpersonal; it begins with the self’s proper place and relationship to its own nature and to God.
  • The self’s covenant with God makes knowledge (maʿrifah) central to ethical life. The higher form of knowledge comes from devotion and divine grace and leads to certainty (yaqīn).
  • Knowledge is of two kinds:
  • The first kind (maʿrifah) is the prerequisite knowledge supporting worship and devotional acts; it is a knowledge of God’s unity (tawḥīd) and essential Islām (arkān al-islām, arkān al-īmān).
  • The second kind is discursive, empirical knowledge (al-ʻilm al-ḥukmī), gained by experience and observation, useful for practical life and civic affairs.
  • The first knowledge is obligatory on all Muslims (farḍ ʿayn); the second is obligatory on some Muslims (farḍ kifāyah). If enough people undertake it, the obligation can be discharged for others.
  • Islam’s view of knowledge contrasts with secular Western conceptions, which often emphasize utilitarian knowledge for citizenship; Islām seeks to produce a “good man” (al-rajul al-kābil) through knowledge and virtue, rather than only a good citizen.

• The return to genuine Islām: development and progress

  • Change and progress in Islam mean returning to genuine Islām as taught by Muḥammad and companions, a return to the original nature and religion (Islām).
  • Development is the process of returning to the true Islām; progress is the direction toward ultimate permanence (being), not mere becoming.
  • The critique of secular progress: true progress depends on adhering to the One Reality and not chasing fleeting, un-established values.

• The cosmological and ontological vision in Islam

  • Islam distinguishes Being (wujud) and its existent modes (mawjūd), unity (waḥdah) and multiplicity (kathrah), subsistence (baqa) and annihilation (fanā’).
  • The Object of reality is permanent and unchanging; Islam affirms being and remains constant because its revelation (the Qur’ān) is unchanging.
  • The two-tier vision of reality encompasses both objective metaphysical facts and subjective, mystical experiences (shuhūd).

• The Prophet Muḥammad as the final model

  • Muḥammad is the Seal of the Prophets, the perfect exemplar, whose life provides the model for all generations.
  • Muslims emulate his words (qaul), model actions (fi‘l), and silent approvals (taqrir) of practices known to him.
  • Western civilization, by contrast, is depicted as constantly becoming, lacking a single established Reality or final model, which Islam maintains is necessary for continuum and identity.

• Ethics and justice in Islam: from the self to society

  • The state is not an ultimate end; individual salvation and justice begin with the self’s relationship to God and to the Covenant.
  • The Ummah is formed not by a social contract but by a shared Covenant with God; every soul makes the covenant for itself and participates in it collectively.
  • The community’s unity (ukhuwwah) rests on the Covenant and transcends racial, national, or ethnic divisions.
  • The self’s integrity precedes or supersedes the state; a Muslim may oppose a state if its actions contradict the Islamic end and duties, especially if it fails to realize justice and the Covenant.
  • The concept of happiness (sa`ādah) is not mere secular satisfaction; it is attained through certainty of Truth, justice (adl), and the peace of the heart (qalb), achieved through devotion and allegiance to God.

• The role of Isa (the Messiah), angels, and Prophet-hood in the life of a Muslim

  • The Prophet Muḥammad is the most exemplary figure in Islam and the primary guide after the Qur’ān; his life and teachings anchor the Muslim ethos.
  • Angels’ reverence and interaction with believers reflect the spiritual reality of submission and the favor accorded to those who align with God’s will.
  • The unity of belief and practice is emphasized: Islam is belief and faith (īmān) as well as submission in service (islām); it is the harmony of heart and action, mind and deed, and belief and practice.

• Identity, generation, and social critique

  • A Muslim’s identity is anchored in the Covenant and in submission to God’s law; generation after generation maintains identity through emulation of Muḥammad and affirmation of the Covenant.
  • Western society’s three-generation dynamics (youth, middle-age, old age) are contrasted with Islamic civilization, which provides a stable model through the Prophet and the Qur’ān and maintains a continuous, universal standard of life.
  • In Islam, identity is aligned with the Covenant and with submission to God; there is no drastic rift between generations since the pattern of life is stable and anchored in divine guidance.

• Key Qur’ānic references and Hadith cited in the discussion

  • “Verily man is in loss” (Al-‘Asr, 103:2).
  • “Do they seek a religion other than the religion of God? while all creatures in the heavens and on earth have submitted (aslama) to His Will?” (Ali 3:83, referencing the broader context of submission).
  • “There is no compulsion in religion” (Al-Baqarah 2:256).
  • “And the Religion (din) in the sight of God is Islām” (Ali Imran 3:19).
  • “I have only created the Jinn and Man that they may serve Me” (Qur’ān, 51:56).
  • “Die before ye die” (Prophetic saying attributed to Muḥammad) illustrating self-subjugation and internal reform.
  • The various verses that link Lordship (rabb), sovereignty (malik), and ownership (ṣāḥib) to the human covenant and submission.

• Summary: what this means for studying Islamic ethics and morality

  • Din is a comprehensive concept that binds belief, practice, personal ethics, and social life into a unified order.
  • The four primary significations of din underpin a cosmology where humans are indebted to God, submissive to His law, empowered by righteous governance, and inclined toward social and spiritual refinement.
  • The relationship between the individual and the Ummah rests on a Covenant with God, linking personal salvation with community-wide justice, knowledge, and virtue.
  • True Islamic ethics aim to cultivate a “good man” (as opposed to merely a good citizen) whose life is guided by maʿrifah (gained through worship and divine grace) and a commitment to justice (adl) in relation to self, God, and others.
  • The personal journey of return to God (via ibādāt and the cultivation of ta’ah, taqwā, and ma’rifah) is the core of Islamic morality, while the social order provides a framework for translating inner virtue into outward righteousness and communal well-being.

• Final note on the unity of Islam

  • Islam unites belief, faith, submission, and practice into a single, indivisible way of life; there is no dichotomy between inner faith and outer practice when Islam is truly lived.
  • The Prophet Muḥammad epitomizes this unity; his life provides the standard by which all Muslims measure piety, justice, knowledge, and brotherhood (ukhuwwah).