VIEW OF RELIGIOUS QUEST

 

 Quranic Foundations And Structure Of Muslim Society

Chapter 5

VIEW OF RELIGIOUS QUEST

 

(1) Nature of Religious Quest:

The Religious Quest proceeds in terms of ‘religious experience’. The Holy Qur’an centralises it in the ‘Quest for God’ (Jihad fī-Allaah) and tells us that it establishes in the pursuer’s consciousness the experience of ‘Divine Presence’: “As for those who pursue most earnestly the Quest in (or, for) Us (Allaah), We surely guide them in Our Paths. And certainly Allah is with ^[1] (i.e., in dynamic reciprocal relationship ^[2] with) those who practise Ihsan” (29:69). 

 

That living and dynamic contact with God, the All-Holy (59:23; etc.) and the All-Wise (2:32; etc.), brings to the pursuer of the Quest, in proportion to the intensity of striving built up by him, on the one hand, holiness ^[3] adequate to human nature—even as a valley or a territory on which the blessings of the All-Holy descend becomes holy (20:12; 5:21; etc.)—, and on the other, experience culminating in basirah (i.e., evidence clear as seeing with one’s eyes) spoken of in the Qur’an thus: “Say you (O Muhammad!): This is my Way: I do invite unto Allaah,—on evidence clear as the seeing with one’s eyes,—I and whosoever follows me (practically). Glory to Allaah! and I am not of those who join gods with Allaah.” (12:108). The Religious Quest is thus basically different from the quests of Philosophy and Science, which relate to the acquisition of formal discursive knowledge. 

 

In Islamic terminology, the term that emerges for the Religious Quest is al-Ihsan, as laid down explicitly in Bukhari’s Sahīh: “… he (the enquirer) asked: ‘What is al-Ihsan?’ (To that) he (the Holy Prophet) replied: ‘It is to pursue the System of Obedience to Allaah as if you are seeing Him (i.e., with the inner vision of ‘Divine Presence’); but if it is not possible for you to see Him (inside your consciousness), then (this reality should remain thoroughly established in your mind that) He is seeing you’ … (vol. 1, p. 12). 

 

In the Holy Qur’an we find the command: “Verily, Allaah enjoins al-‘Adl and al-Ihsan …” (16: 9), —al-Ihsan having been related elsewhere in the holy book not only to acts of well-doing to others but also to attitudes and acts that bear direct reference to the  practice of self-negation for the sake of God and the attendant purity of the heart and godliness (3:134; 5:13; etc.); and we repeatedly come across the theme that “Allaah loves those who are Muhsin (i.e., pursuers of Ihsan)” (2:195; etc.). Then, the important fact is to be noted that the root from which Ihsan and Muhsin emerge is HSN, which enshrines the concept of ‘beauty’. Hence al-Ihsan, as Imam Raghib al-Isfahani explains, stands in one of its two connotations for “the creation of beauty in one’s conduct, which is achieved through beauty in knowledge and beauty in action” (Mufradat al-Qur’an, section HSN), —thus denoting, as a religious term, the beautification of Iman (Faith) and Islam (Exercise in Submission to God); 

 

Or, as Lane states it on the basis of the findings of other eminent authorities, it relates to the basic Qur’anic virtue of al-Ikhlas (undivided loyalty and purity of devotion to Allaah—7:29; 98:5; etc.) and “watchfulness and good obedience” (Lexicon, (Section HSN). All that involves a perpetual conscientious struggle (jihad, mujahada) on the path of ‘Devotion to God’ for the sake of establishing purer & purer and more & more living relation with Him,—in one word, the Religious Quest,—the struggle being grounded in the fundamental norm of ‘Love for God’ (Hubb Allaah) (2:165) and pursued with utmost regard (tadarru‘) for God’s infinite Greatness and Glory (7:55; etc.). 

 

It is necessary to emphasise here with all the force at the present writer’s command that it is the actualisation and the fulfilment of the Quest for God alone which equips a Muslim, according to the Qur’an (22:78), for becoming capable of ‘bearing witness of the Truth of Islam to humanity’—which is his mission (2:143)—and thus it is an unavoidably necessary qualification, together with the requisite intellectual achievement, for an Islamic religious leader. 

 

(2)  Standpoint for Religious Quest:

The Qur’anic standpoint is ethico-religious, as opposed to magical, mystical, ritualistic and legalistic standpoints given by other systems. Subjectively, it relates to spiritual and moral transformation of the individual (91:9); objectively, it is grounded in love for God manifesting itself in love for fellow-beings (2:177: etc.). 

 

(3)  Source of Guidance for Religious Quest:

Religious Quest is to be pursued on the basis of the Qur’an and the Sunnah (i.e., the dynamics of the Holy Prophet Muhammad’s Personality), together with an ever-deepening understanding of Nature and History as repositories of the Signs of God (3:189-190; 14:5; etc.). 

(4)  Instruments employed for Religious Quest:^[4]

The Holy Qur’an projects two instruments in that behalf, namely, Faith and Reason (58:11). Vision of Faith guided by Reason leads to the deepening of Conviction (35:28; etc.), which, in its turn, leads to confident progress in the Quest. 

 

(5)  Standard of Behaviour relating to Religious Quest:

Faith begets Love; Reason begets Law. Love and Law have, however, been considered as antithetical in the pre-Qur’anic religious thought. But, according to the Holy Qur’an, they are complimentary and should therefore be reconciled (96:1; etc.) in order that a ‘sound heart’ is built up, which is the demand of Religion (26:89; etc.). 

 

That is so, because: Love relates to motivation; while Law relates to discipline, which is vitally necessary for human success. But, discipline cannot be consequentially imposed from without; rather, it should grow from within. Hence  Love should form the basis of following the Law. 

 

Also: the ethico-religious (spiritual plus moral) approach to life is grounded in Love, while the juristic approach is grounded in Law. Hence, because Love forms the basis of following the Law, the primary emphasis in an ideal religious life should be on the spiritual and moral aspects of human conduct rather than on juristic formalism. It means that emphasis on Law should be subordinate to the emphasis on Love,—not that Law should be discarded. That will ensure healthy development of human personality: Because the spiritual and the moral dimensions of conduct belong to the realm of ‘freedom’, which renders initiative possible and ensures the flowering of human personality; while the formal, or the juristic, dimension is grounded in ‘compulsion’, which gives rise to inertia and stultifies the personality.

 

Hence it is that a much greater portion of the Holy Qur’an is devoted to spiritual and moral guidance than to juristics (al-fiqh) and the emphasis through & through is on the primacy of the spirit, which alone makes the pursuit of the Law, fruitful (2:177; 2:263; 22:37; etc.); while legalistic hair-splitting, which is born of formalistic and externalistic approach to Religion, has been vehemently denounced (2:67-71; Etc). 

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[1] The Arabic word ma‘a used in the text for ‘with’ possesses the emphasis on ‘togetherness’ and ‘company’. It denotes a distinctive form of relationship between God and the Devotee, as compared with the universal and general with-ness of God in reference to everything in Creation.

[2] Cf. “Remember Me, I will remember you” (2:152); “Verily, Allah helps one who helps Him” (22:40); “Call unto Me, and I shall answer your prayer” (40:60).

[3] ‘Holiness’ attainable by a human being is a factual state of human consciousness, and not a mere Idea—a mere concept of speculative thought; and because consciousness is the basic element in Personality, holiness forms the basic achievement in religious quest. This state emerges when the ego, in soaring higher, gets out of the range of the gravitational pull of instinctive urges and passions (79:40; etc.) and becomes established in the experience of Divine Presence through total surrender to God (2:112, etc.),—acquiring as a consequence, the status of waliy-Allaah (Friend of, in the sense of intimacy with, God) (10:62).

[4] For further edification, refer to our discussion on “Ethico-Religious Dynamics”— (Book 2, Part 1, Chapter 5).

Source

to be continued . . . . . 

Quranic Foundation & Structure Of Muslim Society In The End Times