ESTABLISHING OR UPHOLDING DEEN?

ESTABLISHING OR UPHOLDING DEEN? Reformation of the Individual God has ordained for you the same religion (deen) which He enjoined on Noah, and which We have revealed to you, and which We enjoined upon Abraham and Moses and Jesus, so that you should remain steadfast in religion (aqim ud deen) and not become divided in it… (42: 13) M ANY present day scholars have interpreted this verse of the Quran in a manner that is not only incorrect in principle but has also turned the Muslim mind towards violence and terrorism. The bloodshed and destruction undertaken in the name of Islam or Islamic Jihad that the world is witness to today is a direct or indirect result of the incorrect and political interpretation. Such an interpretation deviates from all the original and authentic interpretations of this verse within the Islamic knowledge database. These scholars have presented an interpretation of the verse that implies that the goal of Islam is the establishment of the rule of God and that it is the responsiblity of the (ummah) followers of Islam to work towards the establishment and enforcement of the (Shariah) law of God on land. In order to understand the error of this interpretation, we present here an academic analysis of the verse in question. In this verse of the Quran, what is meant by deen and what is the meaning of aqim ud deen? Pondering about this matter, one of the first things that comes to mind is that the word deen—like many other words—has several different meanings and connotations. For example deen as ‘judgement’ as in (1: 4); deen as ‘law’ (12: 76); deen as ‘follower’ (4: 125); deen as ‘religion’ (109: 6) etc. It would not be right to say that the meaning of aqim ud deen in this verse is to ‘establish the deen in all its meanings’. Saying so, would be against the rules of grammar. It is an accepted principle of grammar that if a word that has several different meanings is used in a sentence, then only that singular meaning of the word is implied as is inferred The beliefs and fundamental principles taught by the different prophets was identical, but there were considerable differences in terms of the laws (Shariah) and practical commandments.