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Written by Mehmet Ozalp
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Tuesday, 13 February 2007 |
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Page 7 of 7 Summary - While encouraging people to gain knowledge and satisfy their intellect in matters of belief, Islam fosters deep spirituality and a strong relationship with God. It, then, encourages its practitioner to effect change within the social domain through wisdom and matured spirituality.
- Prophet Muhammad has said that the "gaining of knowledge is compulsory for both men and women".
- According to Islam, the most important knowledge one can acquire is the knowledge of the self and God complementing one another.
- Three dimensions of spiritual development include:
- Quantity and variability of worship eg prayer, fasting, and charity.
- Staying away from harmful substances and acts eg theft, murder, adultery, lying.
- Getting closer to God through remembrance (zikr) and supplication.
- Social development is most effectively achieved through service for a cause that is greater than the self.
- Continuous learning, spirituality and constructive social activism provide a balanced personal development in Islam.
- Social life is dependent on truth and justice, which leads to trust between individuals in a society and the legal system.
- The purpose of existence is to recognise and worship God, to reach a level of personal integrity built on virtue and to express these in good works to attain the acceptance and approval of God.
- Gathering agent is not race or nationality, but humanity and religion as a higher level of centre of social gravity leading to a sense of egalitarian brotherhood.
- Principle motivation in life is to help one another instead of struggle, resulting in peace and harmony in the interpersonal and social planes.
- The purpose of worldly life is to reach spiritual contentment while checking the desires of the self through their lawful satisfaction.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 13 February 2007 )
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