ESTABLISHING OR UPHOLDING DEEN?

world with conflict and enmity in the name of establishing the order of God’s law. This verse demands the observance of deen or adherence to deen, not the enforcement of deen or the establishment of deen. Its goal is the introspection of the individual not the scrutiny of others. It is a struggle to be undertaken in the mind and personality of a believer, not a public demonstration in the fields of politics and governance. The target of the Islamic mission is the individual, not the society. This does not mean that Islam does not have any commands or guidance for society. The truth is that making the reformation of the individual as the goal results in the reformation of society as a whole. The soul of all reformation is the reformation of the individual soul. Instead, if society is targeted whilst ignoring the individual then there will be neither a reformation of society nor a reformation of the individual. ....God does not change the condition of a people's lot, unless they change what is in their hearts...(THE QURAN 13: 11) o Learning Spirit Opportunities for learning are abundant in every circumstance. But a person has to have an open mind to benefit from this. The world is virtually a global university for learning, and requires no formal admission. The only qualification required to benefit from this university is the willingness or readiness to receive impressions or ideas. People tend to accept anything that goes in their favour and get offended if something is said against them. This is the greatest obstacle to learning. A person having the learning spirit is free from prejudice and receptive to new arguments and ideas making it possible to learn from anyone. The learning spirit is the greatest source of intellectual and personality development. But the condition for making use of it for oneself is that whenever a person tells something one should always give a positive response.