| ‘Self’
is not Self-Sufficient:The care of individual
personality (self) is very important in Islam along with common
good and collective benefit of society. Man can not live all
by himself. He can live and progress only in an environment
in which he is dependent not only on other humanbeings but
other creations and sustaining systems, subjected to him in
the universe. This has been emphasized in the Quran through
the address in singular as well as in plural, at different
places. In the realm of social sustainability and prosperity,
the principle of enjoining right and forbidding wrong, has
been ordained as the foremost duty and special merit of individual
and society, both.
"You have been best of peoples, ever raised
up for mankind,
You enjoin Al-Ma'ruuf (right) and forbid Al-Munkar
(wrong.)". 3-110
Entire collection of genes in human genome, sensors,
knowledge, understanding and reasoning; all put together are
not enough to encompass and comprehend all forces and facts
influencing universe and environment of man. Similarly all
mankind collectively has not been able to harness all powers
and forces of nature and in fact can not control all factors
and variables in action and inter-play in universe. The mortal
man moulded in dimensions of space-time and bound by immutable
laws, needs Allah, The High Exalted, every moment of his life
to keep him on the path of Guidance and make him firm and
constant on it. The servant does not have power to benefit
or harm even himself, except as Allah wills. Allah has therefore
directed the servant to remain in touch and invoke Him constantly,
so that He provides him with His succour, firmness and success:
13-16 and 35-15. Indeed happy is he, whom Allah invites to
ask of Him, and successful is he, whom Allah guides - in urgent
need and always.
"O you
who believe! Believe in Allah, and
His Messenger, and the Book,
which He has sent down to His Messenger, and
the Scripture,
which He sent down to those before". 4-136
The above verse in fact emphasizes firm and constant
belief in and performance of deeds in accordance with the
law or the way prescribed by Allah. It is in this respect
that help is sought to remain on the path of faith.
Allah has
commanded to proclaim:
"Our Lord-Master-Owner-Sustainer (Allah)!
Let not our hearts deviate after You have guided
us,
And grant us Mercy from You.
Truly, You are The Ever All-Bestower" 3-8
Thus, the invocation "Guide us on the Straight
Way" means: O God! Make us firm on the Path of Your Guidance
and do not let us astray from it.
Meaning
and Degrees of Hidaayah or Guidance:One of
the best explanations of the word, Hidayah (Guidance) has
been offered by Imaam Raaghib Isfahani in his Mufridaatul
Quran, which may be summed up as follows: Hidaayah signifies
leading someone towards his destination, gently and kindly.
In the real sense, it issues forth from Allah Alone, and it
has several degrees, which will be discussed below. MMM Shafi
in Ma’ariful Quran (pp.72-77, Vol-I) has given an elaborate
explanation of different degrees and aspects of guidance,
which is reproduced below, along with translator’s note:
The
first degree of Guidance:"The first degree
of guidance is general, and covers everything
that exists in the universe .. the Holy Quran makes it quite
clear that all forms of existence.. and every particle.. possesses
life, sensitivity and even consciousness and understanding
in its own degree and according to its own sphere of existence..
Those who have very little of it are considered to be inanimate
and devoid of consciousness. The ‘Shari'ah’ too
has recognized this difference, and such creatures have not
been made to bear the obligation of observing the injunctions
of Allah. The creatures which show obvious signs of life but
not those of consciousness and reason are considered to be
living, but not rational; whereas, creatures showing the signs
of consciousness and reason, along with those of life, are
called rational beings. Because of these differences in the
degrees of consciousness, men and jinn alone, of all the existents
in the universe, have been made subservient to the injunctions
of the Shari'ah and accountable for their actions.. The Holy
Quran is very explicit on this point:
"Nothing exists that does not celebrate His
(Allah's) praise,
but you do not understand their (mode of) praising."
17-44
"Have you not seen that everything in the
heavens and the earth
proclaims Allah's Purity, and the birds too that
spread their wings?
Each of them knows its prayer and its (mode of)
praising.
Allah is all aware of what they do." 24-41
"Evidently, one cannot extol and praise Allah
without knowing Allah. It is equally evident that knowing
Allah is the highest form of knowledge possible , and such
a knowledge cannot be gained unless one possesses consciousness
and understanding, though it may not always be apparent to
the ordinary observer -- a truth which has been endorsed by
all the great religions, by certain ancient philosophers,
and lately even by experimental science.. The Holy Quran speaks
of primary and general guidance..: (e.g.,20-50 and 87-1&2)..
That is to say, Allah has given every creature a particular
nature and function, guided it in a way which should
correspond to its station in the scheme of things.
Thanks to this general guidance, everything in the universe
is performing its allotted function with such marvelous efficiency.
For example, it is the ears that hear a sound and not the
eyes or the nose. Similarly, nose smells but cannot see; eyes
see but cannot smell. "In short:
"There
is nothing in the heavens and the earth,but comes to the All-Merciful
(Allah) as a servant." 19-93
(obeys the laws set for it, by Allah).
“The
Second Degree of Guidance:"Unlike the
first, the second degree of guidance is not general but particular.
It is limited to those creatures which are considered to be
rational, that is men and jinns.. This kind of guidance comes..
through prophets and revealed books. Some accept this guidance,
and become believers (Muslims); some reject it and become
disbelievers (Kaafirs).
“The
Third Degree of Guidance:"The third degree
of guidance is still more particular, being special to true
believers (Mu'minuun) and the God-fearing (Muttaquun). Like
the first degree, the third (degree) of guidance too descends
directly to the individual from Allah, and it is called, Taufiiq.
(That is to say, Allah's Grace provides a man with internal
and external means and circumstances which should make it
easy, and even pleasant for him to accept and act upon the
guidance of the Holy Quran and difficult to ignore or oppose
it.).. The scope of the third degree of guidance is limitless,
and its levels indefinite. Here is the sphere in which man,
not only can, but is required to make a progress in the veritable
sense of the term. The agency of this progress is the performance
of virtuous deeds. (As defined, it goes without saying, by
the ‘Shari'ah’ (Faith ) and not by individual
or collective fancy, or by custom and habits, or by the fads
or fashions of the day). All increase in virtuous deeds brings
with it an increase in divine guidance.. The Holy Quran itself
gives us the promise of such increase:
"As for those who follow the Straight Path,
Allah will increase their guidance " 47-17
"And
whoever believes in Allah,
He Guides his heart" 64-11
"Those
who strive for Us (Allah),
We will surely Guide them in Our Paths"
29-69
"It is in this field of progress that we
see even the greatest prophets and men of Allah striving,
and it is an increase in divine guidance and help that they
keep seeking to their last breath.
“A
Cumulative View of Guidance:"Keeping
in mind the three distinct degrees of guidance, one can easily
see that guidance is a thing which everyone does possess in
some way, and yet no one, not even the greatest, can do without
wishing to attain more of its advanced and higher stages..
Hence, of all the prayers man can address to Allah, the most
important is the prayer for guidance, which has been taught
to us in the very first Surah of the Holy Quran (1-6).. (Another)
Surah (No.48), Al-Fat-h (The Victory), in enumerating the
material and spiritual benefits of the conquest of Makkah..also
says:
"..That it may be a Sign for the believers,
that He (Allah) may guide you on a Straight Path"
48-20
"Whenever
the Holy Quran speaks of Prophets (Peace be on them) as guides,
it is always referring to this second degree, and to it alone..
On the other hand , when the Holy Quran, addressing the noble
Prophet (peace be upon him), says: ‘You cannot guide
whom you please’ 28-56, it is the third degree of guidance
which is intended, that is to say, it is neither the function
of a prophet nor is it in his power to provide Taufiiq to
anyone. (Also see translator's note below.)
“To sum up , the Quranic prayer "Guide
us in the Straight Path" (1-6), is most comprehensive,
and certainly, one of the most important prayers taught to
man. No member of the human family can claim not to need it.
No success, no prosperity in this or in the other world can
really come without being on the straight path. Particularly
so, for man lost in the anxieties of mortal life, the prayer
for the straight path is an elixir, though people do not realize
it."
"(7)-Translator's Note : In this context
one should not overlook the popularity enjoyed in the West,
since the rise of Protestantism, by the notion of a personal
relationship with God on the part of the individual. This
notion has in its turn produced a diffused yet very effective
conviction that ethics can be made independent of religion,
that the external or legislative aspect of religion is of
no account, that prescribed rites are irrelevant to the so
called ‘religious experience', and more monstrously
still, that doctrines can be dispensed with altogether-- all
of which betrays a total incomprehension of what constitutes
a religion..
"In persuading the Muslim countries to look
upon themselves as "the eastern-most part of the West",
the London Economist argues that Islam ‘also implies
a one-to-one relationship between the believer and the God
he believes in, a direct contact without intermediary and
in this relationship, in which a single God speaks directly
to the core of a single man, is the basis of individualism.
The Protestant ethic is grounded on precisely the same concept.'
(May 17-23, 1975, page 82 of the Special Survey).. In the
light of the discussion regarding the three degrees of guidance,
it should not be difficult to see that the direct contact
with God without intermediary pertains only to the first and
the third degrees, and not the second degree where the mediation
of the prophets is indispensable. To attain the third degree
may be necessary for making a spiritual progress, but Islam
, or for that matter any authentic religion, is born out of
the second degree of guidance. One can not indeed , enjoy
the benefits of the third degree without having accepted the
guidance of the second degree -- or, to use the Islamic terminology,
without following the Shari'ah (The Righteous
Deeds, the Approved Way)..” (M.M.M.Shafi, Maariful Quran,
Vol-I, pp.72-77)
Kinds
of Hidaayah explained by different religious scholars:Hidaayah
is such a vast term that many scholars have attempted to explain
its various aspects. Only a few, very briefly are here: "Guidance
is of two kinds: (a) Guidance of Taufiiq and it is totally
from Allah i.e. Allah opens one's heart to receive the Truth,
and (b) Guidance of Irshaad through Allah's Messengers and
the pious preaching the Truth.
(Dr M.M.Khan and Dr Al-Hilali,
The Noble Quran)
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