CORRECT UNDERSTANDING OF RELIGION

CORRECT UNDERSTANDING OF RELIGION T he commands of religion are similar in form, but they don’t apply to us in the same way. For example, the Quran commands: “Establish prayer” and also commands: “Give zakat.” On the surface, both are expressed as imperatives, yet our relationship to each is different. The obligation to pray is absolute; it applies to every believer at all times. However, the obligation to give zakat depends on possessing the minimum required wealth (nisaab). A person who does not have that amount is not required—neither to pay zakat nor to try to acquire wealth just to fulfill this duty. The flaw in the ideology being discussed is that it fails to recognize the different relationships between Shariah (divine law) and mashru‘ lahu (the person for whom the law is legislated). It assumes a uniform relationship between us and all religious commandments, reducing all obligations to a single duty: to establish and practice Islam as a complete way of life. However, within the