The reality of the religion of lslam

The reality of the religion of lslam

Today we have conferred the name of Deen on some external forms of worship. These are prayers, fasting, payment of Zakat, HUJJ and Umrah, etc. There is no denying that these items are, in their places, great blessings, yet Deen is not confined to them alone. The science of religion which is called Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) has been divided into four parts. Only one part deals with worship; the remaing
three parts deal with the rights of the people. We have however, excluded totally fi-om Deen the topic of the rights of the people which covers the three parts of Deen. Ifwe commit some excess towards the servants of Allah by distressing them, injuring or harming them we do not feel that we have committed a sin or have done some unlawfUl act or have displeased Allah. We forget totally that sins or excesses committed towards the servants of Allah cannot be forgiven by repentance. They can be forgiven only when the pezple wronged and oppressed forgive the wrongdoers.

Bribery is rampant in our society today. We are causing distress to others, usurping their rights, depriving them' of their possession unlawfully -- all these acts relate to the rights of the servants of Allah. Anything that causes pain and distress is a violation of this right. It. is a very serious matter to violate these rights of the servants of Allah. May Almighty Allah help us to understand the importance of the rights of the people and discharge them rightly.

This Deen -- Islam -- is not the name of a few external and formal rituals. It teaches us everything about our lives, including religion. I was telling you that we do not realize the value of these virtues while we are alive in this world. We believe that all goodness and blessings lie in worldly wealth and resources, eg. a good bank balatlce, a car and a palacial building. We are concentrating all our thoughts, hopes and energies on worldly temptations in preference to the virtues and rewards of the Hereafter.