Woman between Islam and Western Society

divine truth (a commandment of God), but thanks to the anthropologists’ particular method of study, it has been reduced to a mere artifact of historical accretion. The greatest harm done to religion by this method of study is that in modern times it has been shorn of its credibility, and reduced to insignificance, whereas, as the commandment of God’s religion it had an unassailable authenticity, because it possessed divine credibility in its own right. Every religious statement was accepted as the ultimate statement of a superior being and, as such, worthy of being adhered to. Conversely, when religion is regarded merely as a social phenomenon, all its credibility is dissipated. This can be compared to relegating the science of chemistry to the position of alchemy, or to equating astronomy with astrology. The fact is that this method of study, when applied to religion, is totally wrong. It turns a reality into a non-reality. It is to accord human status to something which is essentially divine. To understand the reality of religion let us peruse this verse of the Qur’an: “Are they seeking a religion other than God’s when every soul in heaven and earth has submitted to Him, willingly or by compulsion? To Him they shall all return.”14 According to this verse, the religion which God desires man to adopt in his daily living is the same divine law which God has imposed upon the entire universe. Religion is the name of this same universal law. THE LAW OF BALANCE Now let us examine this divine law. In the words of the Qur’an it is the law of balance: “He raised the heaven on high and set the balance, that you might not transgress the balance. Give just weight and full measure.”15 The universe is not composed of just one item. It is rather a collection of highly disparate elements. Besides this, each and every one of its components is in motion. Not a single constituent, from the minutest atom to the most gigantic galaxy, can ever for a second remain static. For the precise functioning of this infinitely complex assemblage of moving components, limits in space and time had to be applied so that the different parts did not come into conflict with each other. God, therefore — besides creating all these things — - established a systematic balance between them. This principle is known as the “Law of Nature.” Similarly, in the human world — also a vast assemblage of disparate individuals — everyone is in motion. And in order that each should continue on his life’s journey without colliding with his fellow men, it was likewise necessary to establish boundaries, both moral and physical, for all human beings without exception: a balance had to be struck so that there should be no clash between individuals or societies. It is, indeed, this law of nature which has been revealed to humanity through the medium of the prophets. God’s will on this