Understanding ‘Deen’

THE CONCEPT OF RELIGION who interpret the verse in Chapter Al-Saff as referring to the dominance of Christians over Jews (as a nation). According to this interpretation, the phrase “ ” الذین آمنوا does not refer to believers in the full sense, but rather to those who acknowledge the prophethood of Jesus (Christians). The dominance of Christians over Jews is not about establishing any kind of “system,” but rather it is simply a general dominance imposed as a worldly punishment for rejecting the prophethood of Jesus and attempting to kill him, based on their intentions. The word “Deen” in Arabic has multiple meanings, but the core meaning for which Islam is called Deen is humility and submission: Ad-dinu: adh-dhull (Lisan al-‘Arab by Ibn Manzur, Vol. 13, p. 170), that is, Al-Din means humility or submissiveness. This signifies humility and lowliness. Danahu dinan, ay adhallahu wa-ista‘badahu (alSihah by al-Jawhari, Vol. 5, p. 2118) means he subdued him, which means he humbled and enslaved him. In a hadith, it is stated: Al-kayyisu man dana nafsahu wa- ‘amila lima ba‘da al-mawt (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith No. 2459), which means, “The wise person is the one who controls his soul and works for what comes after death.”