Main Subject: Islamology

Lesson 5: What is Religion?

Lesson 6: Religion and Dunya

Number of slides: 16

Applied Knowledge in Islamology

How to Start?

Core Concepts

1. I do exist: Acknowledging one’s existence.
2. The world out of me exists: Recognizing the external reality.
3. I want to reach the highest and longest pleasures: The innate human desire for happiness and fulfillment.
4. For this I need to act and do things: Understanding the importance of action.
5. For this I need to know the existence:
   • Entities and rights
   • Creation and its rules

Framework

I > Pleasure > Knowledge of entities and rights > Action

Lesson 5: What is Religion?

Religion as Defined by Islam

Definition

Religion is a system that guides humanity to happiness and perfection in both Dunya (worldly life) and Akhirah (the hereafter).

Four Causes or Elements in Any Definition

1. Material Cause
2. Formal Cause
3. Actual Cause
4. Ultimate Cause

Key Components

• What exists and what does not exist
• Rules and rights
• System and network
• A superior and infallible entity

Main Goals of Religion

1. The Love of God
2. Connecting to the Eternal World
3. Releasing Yourself from Limitations

Religion and Obligations

• God’s religion, if it has hardships, is for the growth and excellence of man.
• Faith and disbelief have no effect on God’s grandeur.
• Duties of parents, teachers, and doctors are driven by compassion and love.

Religion, Hell, and Torment

• Religion did not come to threaten but to guide.
• Religion aligns with Fitrah (innate disposition).

Fixed and Variable Rules in Religion

• Example: The rule of hijab and lowering the gaze is to maintain the peace of the heart and soul and preserve family health.

Conflict of Two Rulings

• Example: Balancing hijab and seeking medical attention from the opposite sex.

Lesson 6: Religion and Dunya

Key Principles

1. The World as a Passage to the Hereafter

   • Man is composed of body and soul.
   • The spirit is the infinite truth of man, while the body is a vehicle for the soul’s perfection.

2. Hereafter: The Inner Side and Bātin of Dunya

   • Every action has an inner truth in another dimension.
   • The closer we get to God, the uglier sins appear.

Examples:

• Intense attention to one thing causes neglect of another (e.g., trance and pain).

3. Religion and Dunya
   • Religiosity is not about avoiding the world.
   • Asceticism (Zuhd): Wanting not, not having not.
   • Balance: Want this world as much as it is, and the Hereafter as much as it is.

Practical Example

• The story of Seyyed Hashem Haddad and Seyyed Ali Ghazi.

4. Religion and Secularism

   • Secularism separates religion from governance.
   • How to prove religion encompasses politics:
     1. The definition of religion includes politics.
     2. Political and social instructions in the Quran and hadith.
     3. Ignoring social and political issues violates God’s purpose.

5. Collective Aql and Management of the World

   • Why hasn’t God entrusted everything to collective reason?

Examples:

• Serving Parents: Socially and spiritually beneficial.
• Usury: Detrimental to society’s economy.
• Homosexuality and Family: Impacts on ethics and society.
• Poverty and Oppression: Addressing global issues.