Understanding ‘Deen’

advanced, the use of this term lacked precision, and it did not evolve into a technical term representing a unified system of thought. When the Quran came, it recognized this word as suitable for its purpose and used it for very specific and clear meanings, establishing it as a distinct term. In the Quranic language, the word “Deen” signifies an entire system made up of four components. 1. Sovereignty and supreme authority. 2. Submission and obedience in response to this authority. 3. The intellectual and practical system established under this authority. 4. Reward and punishment given by the supreme authority as recompense for loyalty and obedience to or rebellion against this system. In the Quran, sometimes the word Deen is applied to the first and second meanings, sometimes to the third, sometimes to the fourth, and at times, when referring to ad-Deen, it implies this entire system with all four of its elements. (pp. 87-88) After presenting separate Quranic verses for each of these four meanings, the author under review writes under the heading “Deen as a Comprehensive Term”: “Up to this point, the Quran uses this word in nearly the same meanings in which it was