Deen (Arabic term)

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Deen (دين) is an Arabic word commonly translated as "religion", "way" or "path". Some, but not all, English-speaking Muslims do not accept the common-language translation of deen as "religion", seeing this as a human-made or ideological concept. They instead use the untranslated Arabic word to signify something above and beyond that concept, perhaps more approximating "faith" (or "way" or "path", as mentioned above), which cannot be translated to an exact equivalent, but only grasped through an understanding and application of Islamic principles. The argument is that in Islam is a "Deen" which means it is not only a "religion" as the English word signifies, but it is a complete way of life.

Etymology

The Arabic word is almost certainly a loan from the Aramaic dīnā, so does the Hebrew dīn which have an identical meaning within the Jewish tradition. The Hebrew word is in turn a 6th century BC loan from the Old Persian dēn- which meant the system of ritual practices of the (Zoroastrian) state religion.

Usage in Qur'an

The word appears in as many as 79 Qur'anic verses, and it is often translated as religion for convenience since there is no equivalent single satisfactory English word. In the Qur'an, Islam is always referred to as Deen. It is the sum total of a Muslim's faith and the code of conduct necessary to obey Sharia.

Usage in hadith

According to Bukhari deen "is composed of the three fundamentals mentioned in the hadith: Islam, or external compliance with what Allah asks of us; Iman, or the belief in the unseen that the prophets have informed us of; and Ihsan, or to worship Allah as though one sees Him." This was also stated by Ibn Taymiyah (Al-'Uboodiyyah, Translated by Abdallah M. Mekkaoui).

As-Saheeh ("Al-Jaami'As-Saheeh" of Imaam Muslim bin Al-Hajjaaj) states:

One day while we were sitting with the messenger of Allah there appeared before us a man who walked up and sat down by the prophet. Resting his knees against his and placing the palms of his hands on his thighs, he said:

"O Muhammed, tell me about Islam". The messenger of Allah said: "Islam is to testify that there is no god but Allah and Muhammed is the messenger of Allah, to perform the prayers, to pay the zakat, to fast in Ramadhan, and to make the pilgrimage to the House if you are able to do so." He said:"You have spoken rightly", and we were amazed at him asking him and saying that he had spoken rightly.

He said: "Then tell me about eman." He said:"It is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day, and to believe in divine destiny, both the good and the evil thereof." He said:"You have spoken rightly".

He said: " Then tell me about ehsan." He said: "It is to worship Allah as though you are seeing Him, and while you see Him not yet truly He sees you".

According to scholars

In "Lugh’at-ul-Quran" (Dictionary of the words and concepts of the Qur'an - Four Volumes, 1941, Tolu-e-Islam Trust 25-B, Gulberg-2, Lahore-11, Pakistan) Allama Ghulam Ahmed Parwez writes, "This word has been used in various forms and meanings, e.g., power, supremacy, ascendancy, sovereignty or lordship, dominion, law, constitution, mastery, government, realm, decision, definite outcome, reward and punishment. On the other hand, this word is also used in the sense of obedience, submission and allegiance (Taj/Moheet)."

According to Abu Ala Maududi, (Let us be Muslims, U.K.I.M. Dawah Center, Lahore Pakistan, 1960) "There are several meanings of Deen. One meaning is honour, government, empire, monarchy and rulership. The second meaning is quite opposite to it, i.e. subordination, obedience, slavery, servitude and subjection. The third meaning is to account, to give judgment, and dispense reward and punishment of actions. The word Deen has been used in the Qur'an in all these three meanings."

According to a Khutba delivered by Imam Mohamed Baianoinie at the Islamic Center of Raleigh, North Carolina, on December 27, 1996, the word Deen is used in Arabic for subjugation, authority, ruling and having charge, obedience and submission due to subjugation, the method and the habit, punishment, reward and judgement.

Inam Khawaja writing in a newspaper article in July 2005 states, "In the Quran, Islam is always referred to as Deen and not as Muzdhab, the Arabic word for religion. Deen means a complete code of life and is inclusive of religion (Muzdhab)."

Allama Ghulam Ahmed Parwez continues: "These Laws of Allah in their final and complete form are given in the Quran, and are called Ad-Deen."

Abu Ala Maududi (Four Basic Qur'anic Terms Translated by Abu Asad, Islamic Publications, Lahore, 1979) quotes from the Qur'an 64:65, 39:2,3,11,14,17, 16:52, 3:83, 98:5 to assert that "the word has been employed to signify the vesting of the Supreme authority in Allah alone,... that there should not be even the slightest element of association and treatment of anyone else have(ing) sovereignty or authority and being entitled to obedience and submission of independent right."

The verses (Qur'an 3:19) and (Qur'an 3:85), Maududi declares, state that only Allah's Laws and religion are acceptable. The third verse proclaims that the "it was the primary purpose of the Prophet's mission that he should make this Deen prevail in their stead and triumph over all other ways of life". And in the fourth verse "the believers have been ordered to fight all non-believers until every system of thought, belief, and action which is not based on recognition of Allah as the Supreme Authority, and which therefore will perpetually remain the source of all strife and unrest- has been wiped out, and the entire humanity adopts the approved way of life, Allah's Deen."

In Do you know this man? (The Revival, Official newsletter of Muslim youth league (UK), July/August 1998) the editors state: "The Prophet gave mankind the idea of an all embracing Deen. The Prophet did not give mankind a religion but the Deen of Islam. If he had given a religion then there would have been spiritual guidance from the religion of Islam and secular guidance from other sources. The prophet managed to combine both secularism and politics in an all-embracing Deen. In the West, the Church deals with religion and the secular guidelines come from the state. Religion only deals with the life hereafter, acts of faith, spiritual rituals, worship and morality. Deen deals with religion, law, culture, civilisation, politics, economics, international affairs, war and peace, individual to international; these are all dealt with in the Deen of Islam."

Sadruddin Islahi (The obligation of Iqaamat-ul-deen translated by Obeydullah Choudry) casts a very broad net for deen: "The linguistic meaning of deen is obedience (itaa'ah)."

Imam Mohamed Baianoinie at the Islamic Center of Raleigh, N. C. continues in his Khutba: "These four linguistic meanings constitute the concept of the word deen in the Qur’an where it implies a comprehensive system of life that is composed of four parts:

The rulership and the authority belong to Allah.
The obedience and submission to this rulership and authority by those who embraced this deen.
The comprehensive system (intellectual and practical) established by this authority (Allah).
The reward given by this authority (Allah) to those that followed the system and submitted to it and the punishment inflicted upon those who rebel against it and disobey it.

Deen (Arabic term)

Etymology

Usage in Qur'an

Usage in hadith

According to scholars

References

See also