The Unity of Divine Guidance

By: Dr Sani Badron

Western scholars have found it difficult to define religion.

The word religion probably refers to either one of these three Latin verbs: relegere (to observe conscientiously), religari (to bind oneself back), or reeligere (to choose again).

Due to the questionable etymology of the word ‘religion', for Western thinkers, there is no clear definition of religion. For some Western thinkers, there could even never be any clear meaning and concept of religion.
Richard McBrien, author of an encylopaedic work Catholicism states: "The very attempt to define religion is itself problematical."

He summarizes thus: "Region is very difficult to define. In fact, there is no single definition agreed upon by all, even within the religious sciences themselves. It is not even clear from which word or words the term ‘religion' is derived." (p. 390).

Therefore, on the one hand Western secular thinkers have described religion only as an element of man-made culture. On the other hand, Western theologians conceive religion at most in terms of faith which is vaguely expressed as a system of doctrines, pledges, and rites, all gradually developed in history.
Such a conception of religion merely "in terms of faith vaguely expressed" has been throughout Western history productive of exclusivism: a very narrow understanding of revelation, of the availability of divine grace, and of the universal salvific will.

That exclusivism is exemplified in Mr. Thwackum's remark in Henry Fielding's Tom Jones: "When I mention religion, I mean the Christian religion; and not only the Christian religion, but the Protestant religion; and not only the Protestant religion, but the Church of England." For another example, this time given by McBrien, is the fact that in so many earlier papal documents preceding the Church of the Second Vatican Council's Declaration in 1965, the principle of religious freedom is condemned in unequivocal manner, as formulated in the maxim "error has no right".

Hence, for example, the burning of ‘heretics' in the Medieval Inquisition (1180s-1230s), in the Spanish Inquisition (1480s-1800s), in the Portuguese Inquisition (1536-1821), and in the Roman Inquisition (1550s-1750s). All those inquisitions happened during almost a century, and have been generally approved by Western religious authorities up till present times, to mention nothing of the Crusaders who fought against the Muslim polity for almost five hundred years. This fact has also been well-documented in scholarly works such as Walter Wakefield's "Inquisition", Albert Hourani's "Western Attitude towards Islam", C. F. Beckingham's "Misconceptions of Islam: Medieval and Modern", and Karen Armstrong's Holy War: The Crusaders and Their Impact on Today's World.

Or rather, as McBrien put it, there was a double standard:

the Church demands freedom for itself when in a minority position but refuses to grant freedom to other religions when the situation was reversed. On the contrary, a Muslim's conception of religion is not merely the result of his discursive thinking. It is, rather, his understanding of Qur'anic teachings. Indeed, to have a true understanding of a Muslim's conception of religion one must first of all know how religion is defined in the Qur'an, which is the source of Muslim belief and practice.


The classical biographers of the Prophet Muhammad shared the view that the first Qur'anic revelation was sent to him in the year 13 before Hijrah, which corresponds to, as some historians have computed, 22 December, 609 CE. This was the beginning of a new, universal religion, namely Islam that was going to be revealed over a period of twenty-three years. Obviously, this new religion was very conscious of the fact that there were already so many religious traditions then in the world; of these, Christianity, Judaism, Sabeanism, and Zoroastrianism were perhaps the most important ones. The Qur'an claims to be the only divine revelation that is sempiternal that can be relied upon to set forth religious truths, confirming the truth of whatever there still remains of earlier revelations, and determining what is true therein (see al-Ma'idah, 5:28).

It is through the Qur'an that Islam claims itself to be the religion that possesses the totality of truth realized in the first Community of Believers of Madinah under the authority and jurisdiction of the Prophet.
This particular concept of the perfect religion is couched in the Qur'anic term al-Din and, more specifically, Din Allah, Din al-Haqq, al-Din al-Qayyim, and al-Din al-Khalis which means "the religion of Allah", "the religion of the Truth", "the one ever-true Religion", and "the original religious submission", respectively.
With all of its forms that occur ninety-five times, din is "an extremely important key term in the Qur'an", as remarked in Toshihiko Izutsu's God and Man in the Qur'an.

Implied in its claim to be the most perfect religion, one of the beliefs of Islam is the "unity of all messages of Allah to mankind". This principle is elucidated with precision by Abu Hafs ‘Umar Najm al-Din al-Nasafi (d. 537 /1142) as: "Allah, may He be exalted, has sent a number of messengers from among mankind to their fellow mankind announcing good tidings, cautioning against evil and making clear for all mankind what they have need for of the undertakings of the world and of religion....The first among the Prophets was Adam and the last among them is Muhammad, may Allah bless and give him peace....All of them are transmitters of commands from Allah, veracious in conveying their teachings for all creatures. The most excellent among the prophets is Muhammad, Allah's blessings and peace be upon him."


This can be easily understood even by non-Muslim Islamologists, like Montgomery Watt, who has once remarked that "belief in other prophets...is of course included in the message Muhammad received from God by revelation." (Italics mine.) In this light, all of the adherents of Islam do, in fact, unanimously uphold an inclusive belief in the "unity of divine messages". This unity was vitiated, however, if or when men falsified Divine Scripture, substituting the revealed words with false, human words and distorting the former with their dishonest tongues.

By so doing, they superimposed falsehood on the truth, repressing and concealing the latter, reflecting their envy and arrogance to religious truths. Hence the importance of being humbly guided by the revealed Scripture which is known completely in the same living language in which it was revealed by God the Guide.

On the Betrayal of Social Trust

 by: Dr Sani Badron


The most destructive unjust deed to one's self, family, society and state revolves around three vices: lying, breaking a promise, and betraying a trust. The modern Muslim world has long been reminded to effectively check these vices since the First World Conference on Muslim Education held at Mecca, in the April of 1977, when Dr. Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas presented the plenary paper on "the Definition and Aims of Education." He was quick to point out that although those three vicious characteristics may sound like three different acts, in reality they are three different ascending degrees of lying-lying when speaking, lying when not fulfilling a promise, and lying by breaking someone's trust.
A similar view has been stated by Sayyid Sulaiman Nadwi in his study on ethics according to the Prophet.
Likewise, Toshihiko Izutsu, in his work Ethico-Religious Concepts in the Qur'an, views that practically all the moral values in Islam may be said to have something to do with the idea of trustworthiness.
The moral concern here is not dissimilar from that of a Roman statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 B.C.).

This greatest orator of ancient Rome aptly observed in the moral treatise written in the last year of his life, De Officiis, that "no type of injustice is more glaring than that of the hypocrite who, in the very instant of being most false, makes the pretence of appearing virtuous."

Many verses of the Qur'an as well as many other authentic hadiths have corroborated this principle.
As far as the religion of Islam is concerned, dishonesty is simply antithetical to true belief, real faith, and conscious submission to God, who has confided trust in human being (see the Qur'an, 33:72-73).
A mu'min or a muslim can never be a habitual liar nor a betrayer of trust as far as his ethics and morality is concerned.

The Prophet said that the one who does not possess honesty, does not possess Faith, and the one who does not keep his pledge, is not a Muslim (la imana li-man la amanata lahu wa la dina li-man la ‘ahda lahu, narrated by Ahmad, al-Tabarani, and al-Bayhaqi). Following the Prophet, the first Caliph Abu Bakr al-Siddiq stated that, "dishonesty shuns belief and faith (al-kidhb mujanab al-Iman)," while the second one ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab said that, "there is no mu'min who is a deceitful (la tajid al-mu'min kadhdhaban)."
In al-Hasan al-Basri's apt summation of religious lip-service, "being untruthful is that in which hypocrisy is comprised (al-kidhb jima' al-nifaq)." Indeed, being untruthful contradicts being obedient and faithful to God.


Imam Malik's al-Muwatta' recorded that a man asked the Prophet whether a believer could be a coward. The answer was in the affirmative. He then asked whether a believer could be a miser. Again the Prophet replied in the affirmative. However, when the man next asked whether a believer could be a liar, the Prophet answered in the negative (narrated in Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr's al-Tamhid and Ibn Abi al-Dunya's al-Samt).

Some Companions even reported in a very famous tradition that they had heard the Prophet saying that a believer could have any characteristic except dishonesty and the inclination to breach trust (‘ala kulli khallatin yutba‘u al-mu'minu illa al-khiyanata wa al-kadhib).

The Prophet was so meticulous in warning his people against lying, breaking one's word, and breach of trust that once he saw a woman calling her child saying, "Come on, I'll give you something!" He asked her whether she would really give the child something. When the woman replied that she would give him a date, the Prophet warned: "If you were not to give something, that would be a lie!"

He was not only against deceiving humans, but even warned people against deceiving animals. Once, annoyed at seeing one of his Companions calling his horse using deception, he said: "You should give up deceiving animals. You should be trustworthy even in your treatment of them!"

Finally, there is an anecdote which, according to Nadwi, although weak with regards to its transmission, is very effective as far as the message is concerned. It is stated that a person came to the Prophet and confessed to him that he had four bad habits. The person informed the Prophet that he was a fornicator, a thief, a drinker and a liar.

He requested the Prophet to order him to leave any one of them and he would comply. The Prophet asked him not to tell lies; the man promised he would not. At night fall the man felt a desire to drink and the urge for sexual gratification. He wondered what answer he would give in the morning if the Prophet asked about drinking and fornication. If he admitted to having indulged in drinking and fornication he would be punished for the crimes. On the other hand, if he denied drinking and fornication he would be telling a lie which would be breaking his solemn pledge to the Prophet.

So, he decided not to indulge in either.

When the night passed further and it became very dark, he wanted to go out to steal. The same thoughts came into his mind. If tomorrow he admitted to theft, his hand would be amputated, and if he denied it he would be breaking his promise.

In the morning he hastened to see the Prophet and told him that because of the promise not to tell lies, he had become free of all four bad habits. Hence, the importance for us to seriously systematize in an objective manner these comprehensive criteria into an educational devise. This devise, which is essentially educative, must be able to be applied as a moral check, in a positive and effective manner, on all who will pass through the educational process leading to appointments to responsible posts and offices.

Ethics and the Great Beyond

by: Dr Sani Badron

With reference to excellent ethics, there are four principal virtues from which all other virtues flow. This refers to prudence, fortitude, temperance, and justice. Each of the first three chief virtues is a mean between two vicious extremes of excess and of defect. Prudence or wisdom is a mean between deceit and stupidity; fortitude, between rashness and cowardice; and temperance or self-control, between profligacy and insensibility. The mean is relative to one's nature and inherent capacity, position, wealth and circumstances.

As such, virtue allows for and reflects men's individual differences. Such an allowance for individual differences relates Islamic thought to Western moralists like Aristotle, John Stuart Mill and John Dewey. Erudite scholars like al-Ghazzali have stressed the difficulty of determining the mean. It is like the straight path (al-sirat al-mustaqim) which is thinner than a hair and sharper than the edge of a sword, so to speak. Therefore, man should constantly turn to God for guidance, since without His guidance and mercy no one can be guarded against the hazards of vice in this life which is full of pleasures or pains or both. uslim scholars of various persuasions such as al-Ghazzali, Ibn Rushd and Ibn Taymiyyah have emphasized that it is through the conjunction of reason and revelation (al-‘aql wa al-shar‘) that the moral perfection of moderation is achieved. In contradistinction to those three virtuous aspects of ethics, justice is not a mean between two extremes but rather, so to speak, an extreme opposed to another extreme: injustice (al-zulm).

Indeed, in discussing the virtue of justice, thinkers such as al-Ghazzali equates it with the whole of virtue.
However, three different aspects of justice may be distinguished: first, socio-political justice, which is concerning the orderly relation of the different members of the country to each other; second, moral justice, concerned with the orderly relation of the parts of the soul to each other; and third, economic justice, concerned with the rules of equity in business transactions. Following al-Ghazzali, Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas has aptly remarked that the philosophic virtues of prudence, fortitude, temperance, and justice are not in themselves sufficient to produce in the self the kind of abiding happiness-an abiding happiness that is not determined by external and temporal circumstances of pains and pleasures. This will become clearer in the following explanation of types of good or happiness according to the worldview of Islam.

Happiness (sa‘adah) is indeed the chief good of man. In the worldview of Islam, there are two primary aspects of happiness, of the hereafter and of the temporal life, emphasizing however that the hereafter's happiness is genuine while the temporal life's one is purely metaphorical. It must be noted, however, that here there is absolutely no implication whatsoever of any attitude of neglect or being unmindful of the temporal life in Islam. Not only does Islam never deny that there are subordinate modes of good but it also asserts that whatever conduces to the ultimate good is good too.

Indeed, the otherworldly happiness itself cannot be achieved without certain subordinate goods.
As such, some such goods are the means to the end, the hereafter's happiness. The subordinate goods include the four principal virtues mentioned above; the bodily virtues of health, strength, good looks and a long life; the external virtues of wealth, family, social influence and noble birth; and the divine virtues (al-fadilah al-tawfiqiyyah) of guidance (hidayah), good counsel (rushd), direction (tasdid) and support (ta'yid).

We thus see that although the philosophic virtues are not sufficient to produce in the human soul the abiding happiness, their acceptance is justified if they do not come into conflict with religion.
Their usefulness for the attainment of happiness is even further acknowledged provided that some reformulation of their meanings has been effected in agreement with the higher order such as those virtues derived from the Qur'an and the life of the Prophet Muhammad. For acquainting ones with the moral virtues derived from the life of the Prophet Muhammad, readers are invited to study, for instance, Qadi ‘Iyad's Al-Shifa' bi Ta‘rif Huquq al-Mustafa, translated by Aisha Abdarrahman Bewley, Muhammad Messenger of Allah (Granada: Madinah Press, 1991), and Shibli Nu‘mani, Sirat-un-Nabi, translated by Sibtain Ahmad ‘Allamah Shibli's Sirat-un-Nabi Volume II (Karachi: Jamiyat-ul-Falah, 1971). In other words, the rational virtues must be reformulated and assimilated into the religious framework.
In the religious framework, the interpretation of human destiny extends to horizons beyond the temporal existence.

Divine Guidance in Ethics

 by: Dr Sani Badron

Secularist believes that the quest for moral truths is of the pride of reason: it is the judging of all-whether good or evil, right or wrong-in terms of deduction alone. On the contrary, Muslim believes in guidance (hidayah) as the foundation stone of all good, which one must be willing to accept in humility to God. When Pharaoh asked parochially "Who is your Lord, Moses?" prophet Moses gave a rather universal answer, "Our Lord is He Who gives to each created thing its form and nature, and further, gives it guidance" (Ta Ha, 20:50).

When the Prophet Muhammad states that "no one will enter Paradise without God's mercy", he refers by mercy there to guidance. Through guidance, God enables man to distinguish between good and evil. It is also through divine guidance that man is given the ability to rise by degrees to the acquisition of the highest knowledge, or to increase his stock of good works, or both. Guidance serves as the light which emanates from the world of prophecy and spiritual pre-eminence (wilayah), whereby man has access to realities which reason alone cannot discover by itself. The Prophet and his believers thus pray to be permanently guided: "Our Lord, perfect for us our light" (al-Tahrim, 66: 8).

The second fundamental divine virtue next to guidance is perseverance (rushd). Al-Ghazzali's Mizan al-‘Amal refers perseverance to "that divine providence which assists man in turning towards his chosen goals, by strengthening his resolve to do what conduces to his righteousness, and deters him from what conduces to his destruction." Perseverance in the right way or the way of truth is the continuance in that state of grace.

The perseverance must be accompanied by that self-restraining firmness of attitude toward unbelief, transgression and disobedience, as pointed out in Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas's A Commentary on the Hujjat al-Siddiq. Those contraries of perseverance are called al-kufr, al-fusuq and al-‘isyan, respectively, mentioned in al-Hujurat, 49:7. Thirdly, one is also in need of right direction (tasdid), which consists in God's directing of one's will and movements towards the desired goal, so as to attain it in the shortest time possible. One's need of God, hence, is not limited to His exhortation and advice (rushd) towards the right way, but also involves His active assistance and reinforcement (tasdid).

Last but not least, man needs God's support (ta'yid), which is His act of empowering man, by granting him inner insight and outer physical capacity, to carry out the designs of his will. Man is incapable of any good without keen understanding, close attention, a sagacious heart, a concerned teacher, adequate wealth and devoted family guarding him from aggression - all of which are gifts conferred on him by Allah. As regards the religious virtues, they are classified into two kinds: the external and the internal, called zahir and batin, respectively. The external religious virtues pertain not only to the fulfillment of the divine commandments but also to one's meeting the requirements of Islamic custom or habit.
Examples of the fulfillment of the divine commandments are acts of worship directed solely towards Allah as well as practices directed toward fellow men for the continued well-being of socio-political order.

It inevitably refers to the performance of the five essentials of the religion of Islam, including ritual purity, recitation of the Qur'an, remembrance of God and invocation. Fulfillment of the requirements of Islamic custom or habit, on the other hand, is comprised of the religious etiquette regarding food, clothing, personal cleanliness, marriage, business transactions, and things allowed and things forbidden.
Likewise are rules of neighbourliness, companionship, travel, observance of the model actions and sayings of the Prophet, and obligations of brotherhood in Islam.

The internal virtues, in turn, refer to the activities of the heart. Such activities of the heart are grounded in one's knowledge of Allah and of the self-knowledge which is derived from both reason and revelation.
Such activities also require a positive disposition in the self which induces good intention (niyyah), followed then by action (‘amal) that is performed with sincerity of purpose (ikhlas) and truthfulness to oneself (sidq). Knowledge of the self leads to knowledge of its good and bad qualities, leading then to the assigning of duties to oneself to overcome the bad qualities such that the soul becomes purified of impurities.

Knowledge of the self also implies self-examination. Called muhasabah, it is one's observing whether the carrying out of the abovementioned duties has been executed in the proper way, and one's correcting any deviation from what is proper. The knowledge of God means the knowledge of Who He is-of His nature and oneness as He as has described Himself in the Qur'an-leading to one's comprehension of the proper relationship between one's self and God. In fact, God's creation and man's self are both signs indicating His reality and truth. Therefore, contemplation and reflection of His works and of the nature of man and the psychology of his soul are prerequisites to the attainment of such knowledge. All this involves meditation (tafakkur) and brings about the gradual realization in the self of other virtues of a higher order.

Examples of higher virtues are repentance (tawbah), patience (sabr), gratitude (shukr), hope (raja'), fear (khawf), unification of God (tawhid), trust (tawakkul) and love of God (mahabbah). Love of Allah is indeed the highest virtue in the context of the attainment of good life or happiness in the worldly life.
Both the external and internal virtues, however, overlap one another.

It is therefore impossible that there be virtuous activities which involve only one kind of religious virtues to the exclusion of the other kinds. In fact, their being so categorized is only to distinguish the inward activities which characterize the internal virtues from the outward virtues of the body-the internal ones emphasizing the inner meaning and dimensions, while the external ones, the outward practice.

Public Policy and the Two desires

 by:Dr Sani Badron

What exactly is the relation between pleasure and good life, between satisfaction and happiness, between contentment and felicity, between ladhdhah and sa‘adah? According to al-Ghazali, pleasure is "the attaining of the object of desire, while desire is the soul's inclination to possess the object of its yearning (shawq)."

When sensitive and rational faculties function well, they are accompanied with a glow, as it were; such radiance is called "pleasure" by Aristotle. Hedonism asserts that pleasure do not differ in kind or quality. For hedonist, pleasures differ only in degree or quantity, and in duration or intensity; hence their propagation of the expansion of the sensate life. In reality, however, pleasures are of different kinds, and they differ as do the human activities they accompany. 

Pleasures are of three kinds. Firstly, pleasure related to the life of the mind, such as the pleasures of learning, scientific investigation, intellectual contemplation, and wisdom. Secondly, the biological pleasure, which is common to man and the other animals, such as eating, drinking and sex. And thirdly, the socio-political pleasure, such as the lust for conquest or the desire for social position. Of all the three kinds of human pleasure, however, the noblest and the most exclusive to him is the pleasure related to the life of the mind, which endures forever and is rewarded by everlasting bliss in the life-to-come.

According to al-Ghazali, the following eight varieties of pleasure-pleasures of eating, drinking, sex, attire, habitation, smell, hearing and sight-are followed in ascending order by the pleasures of social status (jah), accumulation of wealth, rivalry and competition.

The desires for the pleasures of eating, drinking and sex, if left uncontrolled, are particularly nefarious from religio-ethical point of view. In relation to these two desires, Aristotle and al-Ghazzali observe that most men err on the side of excess. As such, training these two desires is the starting point of all character building. Al-Ghazali, al-Makki and Miskawayh observe that gluttony is the root of all the vices, since satiety in food increases the power for lust (al-hawa), and lust is the principal aid of Satan in destroying reason, and in exciting the beastly passions.

On the contrary, moderation in desire for food is the source of all good. Although taking food in quantities sufficient for survival is imperative, any excess is downright harmful. Admittedly, specifications of the quantity of food, the length of time between meals, and its types, vary according to one's age, physical condition and activities. The basic idea is that one should not eat unless one is truly hungry: one should eat so as to avoid the pangs of hunger, without making oneself suffer the pain of overindulgence. Appropriate training for moderation in eating involves, first and foremost, taking only lawful food-there is no question of moderation concerning unlawful types of food: intoxicant, dead meat, swine, food illegally acquired including through corruption and bribery, and so on.

Taking only lawful food has a great effect in illuminating the soul; unlawful food only darkens the soul.

It is important to note the fact that the last Qur'anic verse revealed chronologically, begins with teaching on what are the forbidden foods in Islam, before ends with the statement that God had perfected the religion for those who truly want to submit to Him (al-Ma'idah, 5:3). 

Likewise, as far as sex is concerned, any such a relation outside marriage is forbidden. Within the bonds of matrimony, sex practiced in moderation is essential.Indeed, marriage is instituted for the preservation of the species and the prevention of diseases which otherwise can harm the body that has no lawful outlet for sexual desire. Marriage is also essential for guarding one through lawful union against the temptation of fornication, which affects one's soul very badly. When sex reaches the inordinate length of amorous passion (‘ishq) leading to debauchery, it brings man to a condition lower than that of the brute and reduces him to the level of slavery and humiliation.

This is well reflected in the recent case of world's most successful golfer, who was involved in multiple infidelities allegedly related to over a dozen women. The most effective way of combating sexual lust is not to yield from the start to the concupiscence of the eye and that of the mind-or lustful sight and thought. This is because, once lust has taken hold, it is extremely difficult to eradicate.In this context, the call for censoring all pornographic material on the internet should be strongly supported by the authorities. It will be better for one to engage in something which is able to divert one's mind from lustful thought.

At the personal level, the Prophet Muhammad exhorts one to abide by the rules of abstinence and self-control, reinforced by prolonged fasting which involves hunger and other recommended religio-spiritual measures. But if such practices prove to no avail, one is thereupon advised to marry.

Through the institution of marriage, not only one is enabled to satisfy the urgent demand of sexual desire, but the possible offspring can also be sufficiently cared for by the family. Upon marriage, one enters new challenges - of providing for a family through lawful earnings, of fulfilling the rights of spouse and offspring, and of tolerating the weaknesses of each other. This requires that the issue of the basic material needs of poor families is adequately addressed in socio-economic policy.

Children will not get the love which they deserve if their parents are occupied only with subsistence-works.

Informed by the universal principles outlined above, national development policy should better support the growth of the inner man rather than the expansion of the sensate life.

The Quest for the Love of God

by: Dr Sani Badron

The cornerstone of ethics is the religious exhortation to the soul to engage in relentless search for the love and pleasure of God.When Archangel Gabriel asked the Prophet what is religious perfection (ihsan), the latter answered, “that you should render your service to God as if you see Him, and if you see Him not, He nevertheless sees you.”  Needless to say, service to God also relates to fair practices directed toward fellow men for the continued well-being of socio-political order, including even opposing injustice with proper and due force when and if there is a necessity.  Indeed, as explained in al-Ghazzali’s Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din and Kimiya-i-Sa‘adat, “the objective of all spiritual stations is the love of God….The farthest point of the servant’s perfection is that the love for God triumphs in his soul, so that his totality is engulfed by that.”              The seeker of truth must first denounce the folly of pining at the loss or unattainability of earthly possessions; secondly, the sorrow occasioned by worldly afflictions; and thirdly, the presumption of invulnerability to the divine decree.                It is a reality of life that God will try man by means of danger, hunger, and loss of worldly goods, of lives and of earnings (al-Baqarah, 2:155). But it is also true that no kind of calamity can occur, except by the leave of God (al-Taghabun, 64:11).In a calamitous situation, the servant perceives that what had occurred happens in the hand of He Who preserves his existence; hence, he returns to God, so that He would put an end to his suffering. Indeed, God praises those who say—when afflicted with calamity—“to God we belong, and to Him is our return” (al-Baqarah, 2:156).   They are profoundly conscious that in such a calamity, they belong to God; parting from the disaster, they return to God.So much so that the subsequent part of the verse recognizes that “they are those on whom blessings and mercy descend from their Lord, and they are the ones that receive guidance.”  After that the seeker of truth must inveigh against the fear of death, too. In fact, the fear of death is born of man’s false conception of his condition in this world and the inevitability of death.On the contrary, he should dwell constantly on the thought of his ultimate destiny, resign himself to worldly misfortune if any, and cultivate the habits of contentment and repentance. Such is the preparation of one to meet one’s Lord with perfect joy. The Messenger of God says, “He who loves to meet God, God loves to meet, and he who hates to meet God, God hates to meet too.” In other words, the true seeker after God’s pleasure will not be disturbed by loss or misfortune and will have no thought for anything other than proximity to Him by submitting to His Will. Nonetheless, the number of genuine seekers after God is very small, while the pretenders are legion. To borrow from John Ruskin’s Time and Tide: “a knave’s religion is always the rottenest thing about him.” There are two methods of distinguishing the genuine seekers from the false ones.First, all of their voluntary actions must be determined by genuine prescriptions or the prohibitions of the religious law (shar‘), including in their socio-political practices and business transactions for example. Second, God is constantly present (hadir) in the seeker’s heart. Born of the servant’s awareness of God’s beauty and majesty, being conscious of His presence is a genuine contrition, adoration and submission.  Its mark is never-ending preoccupation with the thought of God and how to attain to His approval. There are three conditions with which the divine march can be achieved: extreme concern, full resolve and constant search.  In Islamic ethics they are termed as hirs, iradah and talab, respectively. The essence of concern is the apprehension of the beauty of the object, necessitating yearning and passion (‘ishq) with submission to His Will.  The essence of apprehending is concentration on the beauty of this object, to the exclusion of any other. All these will bring the seeker closer to God’s approval and pleasure.  The closeness should be understood as a continuous ascent of a perfect spiritual affinity. The ascent may appear at first difficult, but gradually, there will be no undue hardship.  It is the privilege of obeying God’s sacred Law to become less hard to follow as life goes on. Then, the seeker will be able to rise by degrees to the highest level. From the stage of the men of learning, he will be able to rise to that of the saints (awliya’) and soars towards the highest levels of the angelic horizons.  As God says in a holy tradition or hadith qudsi, “My servant ceases not to draw nigh to Me by supererogatory worship (al-nawafil) until I love him; and when I love him I am his hearing, so that he hears by Me, and his vision, so that he sees by me, and his tongue, so that he speaks by Me, and his hand, so that he takes by Me.”

Emulating the Qualities of God

by: Dr. Sani Badron
It is taught in Islamic intellectual tradition that, the names and attributes that belong to God are unlimited in their number, far more beyond the names enumerable by man. Be that as it may, there is a tradition of the Prophet Muhammad, who says that "God has ninety-nine names...whoever memorises, utters and comprehends them will enter Paradise." This tradition is recorded by Imam Muslim; nevertheless, there is no sound tradition which specifies the whole ninety-nine names. Indeed, God describes Himself by the most beautiful names, which is called al-asma' al-husna in four verses of the Qur'an. (See further: al-A‘raf, 7:180; al-Isra', 17:110; Ta Ha, 20:8; and, al-Hashr, 59:24.) The reason why His names are "the most beautiful" is simply because they point to the all-resplendent Named (i.e. God) and, moreover, no names are applied to Him except what is beautiful according to commonly received parlance or sacred law. So much so that God commands the believers to "shun those who blaspheme His names" (7:180), referring to the use of profanity in God's names that suggests anything derogatory to His dignity or to His absolute unity. Quoting al-Razi (d. 606/1210), Muhammad Asad's The Message of the Qur'an interprets distortion of God's names refers to "applying them to other beings or objects or, alternatively, by trying to define God in anthropomorphic terms and relationship." In reality, the most beautiful names and attributes of God constitute the standard of manners and praiseworthy deeds. Hence, the Sufis' teaching, "Emulate moral characters that are the manners of God! (takhallaqu bi akhlaqillah)." As defined by ibn ‘Arabi, "Emulating the character traits of God-that is tasawwuf." Muslim philosophers have similar teaching referred to as al-tashabuh billah. All this is in accordance with a tradition of the Prophet, "The most beautiful character is the manner of God the Tremendous (husn al-khuluq khuluq Allah al-a‘zam)" (recorded by Tabarani, al-Mu‘jam al-Kabir). As simple illustrations of this significant principle, consider the following. Once, the Prophet said to his companions, "If anyone has even a speck of pride in him, he will not enter Paradise." One of the companions enquired, "O Messenger of God! A man likes to have good garments and good shoes. Is that pride?" The Prophet said, "Verily God is beautiful and He loves beauty and He likes that His blessings on His slave be demonstrated" (recorded by Bayhaqi, Muslim and Tirmidhi). The Prophet means that as God is comely in His acts, and being Himself an abundant Bestower of good things, God loves those who are of the like character. Indeed, there are many Qur'anic verses which emphasize Divine Love of beauty, comely deeds, or good things.For example, it is stated that God has beautified the lower sky with lights (67:5); that God has placed all that is in the earth as an ornamental thing to test men: which of them is best in conduct (18:7); that wealth and sons are adornments of the life of this world (18:46); that God has bestowed cloth upon the children of Adam to cover their shame, as well as to be to them an adornment or comforts of life (7:26); that men ought to wear their beautiful dress at every time and place of prayer; that while they need to eat and drink, they ought not to waste by excess, for God loves not the wasters (7:31). In addition, there exist other similar traditions of the Prophet, such as: "God is Beautiful, He loves beauty. He is Generous and loves generosity. He is clean and tidy, and loves cleanliness and tidiness" (recorded by ibn ‘Adi, al-Kamil). "Verily, God is pure, He loves purity. He is clean, He loves cleanliness. Hence, keep yourselves clean!" (recorded by Tirmidhi, al-Jami‘ al-Kabir). The Prophet also stated in the context of war that "God has prescribed ihsan (that which is good, comely or please) in everything; even if you kill somebody [among the military enemies], kill him in a nice manner." Hence, for instance, no mutilating or torturous manner is allowed in shari‘ah, even as a Muslim soldier is killing his military enemies. Another example is the Prophet's advice to his wife A'ishah, "O A'ishah! God is mild and He loves mildness in everything," which is in accordance with the Qur'anic verse, "and God is never cruel to the servants" (3:182). Hence, it is said in a hadith qudsi, "O My servants! I have forbidden Myself from oppressing anyone, and have made it (oppression) unlawful for you, too. Thus, you must not oppress each other" (recorded by Muslim and ibn Hanbal). In the same vein, the Prophet said that whenever a person does something, God likes that he or she does it in a perfect manner (recorded by Tabarani). On emulating the qualities of God, readers may refer further to, for example, al-Ghazzali's al-Maqsad al-asna fi sharh asma'Allah al-husna.