ISLAM: A GENERAL

OVERVIEW AND
CHARACTERISTICS
CHARACTERISTIC OF THE
ISLAM WORLDVIEW

Divine nature of Islam
Comprehensive
Universality
Balance
Unchangeable and flexibility
Scientific
Realistic
DIVINE NATURE OF ISLAM

Its origin is from God.

It is the word of God sent to prophet
Muhammad (SAAW) without any
change or corruption in the text.

It is based on the concept of the
unity/ Oneness of God
It calls people to the unity of lordship

unity of worship
and unity of names and attributes
.
Because of the divine nature of
Islam all acts of deeds of a Muslim
are considered as worship acts as
long as his intention is directed
towards Allah.



Means that Ibadah or worship covers all
aspects of life.
Islam teach people to believe in the
world of seen and unseen and believe
in existence of hereafter.
It is a religion which calls people to
understand the meaning of unity of
God and its manifestation in all
aspects of life.
Superiority of Iman Over Amal

.... : 177

It is not the righteous that ye turn your faces towards
East or West6; but it is righteousness-to believe in
God and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book,
and the Messengers; to spend your substance out oy
love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy,
for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the
ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer;, and
practice regular charity; to fulfill the contracts which
ye have made; and to0 br firm and patient, in pain (or
suffering) and adversity, and trough out all periods
of panic. Such are the people of truth, the God-
fearing (Al-Baqarah:177).

Iman
Iman literally, it means security
and firm faith.
Meaning:
In Islamic term, it refers to firm
belief in heart, declaration by
tongue and its reflection in
ones actions and practices.

The Quran has clearly mentioned that
the one who firmly believes in Him
possesses a clear light which shows him
the way all-through his life. He is not
hesitant or confused, and could go
straight.

COMPREHENSIVE

The Islamic worldview is not meant
only for certain aspect of human life,
but it covers all aspects of life.
It deals with:
spiritual and material aspects,
dunia ( )and akhirah ( ),
seen and unseen,
social, economic, political, and
cultural, aspects of human life.
Islam contains legislation with
regard to:
personal and social life as well as
national and international aspects of
human life
It covers:
Ibadah (
transactions,
relations,
and any other aspect that comes
when there is a relation between man
and God, between man and man,
between man and universe.
Islam is comprehensive religion
because it is:
the final and last religion
universal religion. Therefore, it should
be able to respond to the needs and
requirement of people.
UNIVERSAL
Means
that Islam is not meant:

For a particular group of people
or particular period of time,
but it addresses all mankind,
all races, regardless of their color,
languages, cultures, and civilizations.

"

We have sent you but a mercy for all creatures
of Allah.
It Is Universal Because :
The verses of the Quran, and the tradition of
Prophet Mohammed indicate the universality
of Islam.
The biography of prophet,
his Dawah,
and his practices reflect the universality .
The history of Islam
and Islamic futuhat [ liberation not
conquest of regions] and
the spread of Islam to all parts of the
world is another indicator of the
universality of Islam.
The Islamic teaching:
are addressed to all human kind.
The Qura'n used terms, such as: (
) ( ) ( ).
The teaching of Islam never contradict
the scientific facts.
The Islamic teaching never speaks
against human nature or general human
values such as:
justice,
tolerance,
freedom,
equality,
brotherhood, and others.
Islam is based on
general principles that
are meant for
purification of the soul
and the progress of
humanity in all aspects
of life.

Islam is not meant:
to give power to those groups of
people or
to the other one.
But it is given based on piety ( ),
Ihsan, and not on the name of people
or tribe or nation.
The teaching of Islam can:
cope with the changes of realities,
cultures, and different
circumstances of people.
Its flexibility can response to the
different situation and people of
different cultures can understand and
implement the teaching of Islam taking
into consideration their own situation.
This shows that Islam is universal and
it is able to attend to the problems of
people.
E.g. we have one religion of Islam but
we have many Muslim cultures, where
you see the translation of Islam
teaching in different cultures.
There is a unity of the religion but
diversity of cultures and ways of
implementing the teaching of Islam.
BALANCE

Islam is a religion that gives to each aspect
of human life its need without any
imbalance or exaggeration.
The material, social, spiritual, cultural, and
intellectual aspect of human life is treated
in a balance manner.
Islam never asks people to
focus only on the spiritual
dimension of their life or the
material, or the moral.
But Islam put each dimension
in its right place and legislate
the necessary instruction to
fulfil and meet the need of
that dimension of human life.

.
Seek in what has given to you by God
hereafter, and never
forget your portion of dunia.
This means that balance should be
achieved in our life and we should
fulfil all our needs.

UNCHANGEABILITY AND
FLEXIBILITY
In Islam there are several principles
and foundations of Aqidah, Shariah,
and ethics which are not changeable.
They dont change because of the
change of time and space. For
instance:
the six articles of faith, the five pillars
of Islam, five value of Shariah:

The five purposes of divine law
(maqasid al shariah) as follows:


Preservation and protection of Din (religion);
Preservation and protection of Nafs (life);
Preservation and protection of Aql (mind);
Preservation and protection of Nasl (progeny);
Preservation and protection of Mal (property).




Protection of All these principles and foundations are
unchangeable regardless of the human progress and
development in all aspect of life.
Divine Code laws (maqasid al-
shari'ah
Divine Code laws (maqasid al-shari'ah)
are enunciated with the notion of
human's
primordial status, i.e. the human a
servant of God, hence his virtue is in the
the fulfillment his duty of servanthood,
therefore the first purpose is
preservation and protection of religion
(hifz al din).
Hifz al nafs
The second purpose is protection of life
(hifz al nafs).

In Islamic teachings, both birth and
death are controlled by Allah in the
absolute sense. But as long as man is
alive he deserves a better living



The third purpose is protection of
progeny (hifz al nasl).
Levels of essential human
needs
Underlying this thinking is the doctrinal position of Islam;
namely that man is Vicegerent on earth.

Spiritual level

Psychophysical level


Societal level

Beneath the Maslahah

Necessities Required and acceptable
Conveniences Required and acceptable
Refinement Prohibited and unacceptable
Necessities Required and acceptable
Conveniences Required and acceptable
Refinement Required and Acceptable

Beyond the Maslahah Prohibited and
unacceptable

Besides, these principles and

foundations and guidelines, there are
many aspects where man is
instructed by Shariah to exercise his
ijtihad

and to think and develop

new ideas.
This flexibility of Islam reflects:
its dynamic nature
and ability to develop and produce new
ideas
and adopt the new human discoveries
which are authentic and beneficial for
humanity life.
KNOWOLEDGE-BASED

Islam acknowledges the importance of

reason and ilm ( in all aspects of life
including Iman.

Islam doesnt ask people to believe in God

blindly, but it asks people to believe only if
they are convinced and the evidence given
to them is convincing. In other word, in
Islam knowledge and convincing come first
and then come Iman.

.
In Islam also knowledge is given very
important role and position.
- Scholars - ulmaa - (

) are considered
the real people who inherit the prophet.
.
This is why Islam is a knowledge-based
religion. And it is a religion which respect
ulmaa and make ilm as one of the powerful
means and instruments of building a good
community.

The first verse in Qura'n asks people

to use their reason to read, to acquire
knowledge. It is why Islam is a
knowledge religion.
In the Qura'n, many verses ask people
to use their aql ( ) so that they can
discover the signs and patterns of
God in the universe and in
themselves.

Qura'n calls people to think and

reason about themselves and about
universe.
Islamic civilization was an evidence of
the scientific nature of Islam.
In Islamic civilization all kinds of
knowledge and sciences flourished
and developed and that civilization
becomes powerful because of its
knowledge, sciences, and scholarly
works in all aspects of life.
REALISTIC
Means that:
the religion of Islam never imposes on people
or instructs then to do anything beyond their
capacities.
It only asks people to do what they can do.
Realistic also means taking into consideration
the circumstances of people and their situation
before any ruling is enforced.
It grants people permission in certain situations
which necessitates that for the purpose of
removing hard ship on people.

Recognition of Human Desires

( 14 )

( 15 ) .

( 77 ) .

There is a legal maximum which says
that necessity allows the prohibited. (
.