ESTABLISHING OR UPHOLDING DEEN?

Religion will not be corrupted if the right commandment is taken from the Quranic verses relevant to it. All the requirements and guidelines for its followers will be clear and practical. On the other hand if a commandment is derived from a verse that does not clearly and completely present it, there will only be delusion and degeneration. As an example, consider the verse, ‘Believers, be strict in upholding justice…’(4: 135). This verse is a directive that shows the personal responsibility of a Muslim. It means, ‘O Muslims, in your personal lives remain firm on the path of justice, however much it may affect you.’ Now if the societal and political commandment to establish a judicial system is taken from this verse then its message will be completely reversed. A Muslim, instead of taking personal guidance from the verse will direct his efforts towards the political rulers and administrators. He will have no personal concern or consideration to be just and conscientious in his dealings; instead he will take to the streets rallying towards the establishment of the Islamic flag of justice in the whole world. His resolve will be to fight against all those political forces that will be an obstacle in the establishment of the system of Islamic justice in the world. Personal introspection will not move him, instead he will launch a culture of violence against others. In this way, there will begin an irreligious movement in the name of religion with loud and powerful campaigns, but the very essence on the basis of which it began will be missing—that is a religion that is desirable to God. There is another important aspect of this matter. The verse in question regarding aqim ud deen is from Chapter 42, Al-Shura of the Quran. It is a fact that this Chapter was revealed in Makkah at a time when a large portion of the Quran had not yet been revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. Besides those parts of the Quran that were related to the Shariah and the laws had not yet been given to the believers. The period of revelation of this verse of aqim ud deen establishes without any doubt that the word deen in the verse cannot be taken to mean ‘the complete deen’, as at this time, it had not yet been fully revealed. It is obvious that one cannot be asked to establish a commandment that has not been revealed. For instance, there is a commandment in the Makkan chapters of the Quran to ‘establish prayer’. This verse at God’s law is based on the principle of ‘responsibility according to capacity’.