Legal Islam and Real Islam

Allah says in His Holy book, “Say: ‘Truly my prayer and my service of sacrifice my life and my death are (all) for Allah the Cherisher of the Worlds: No partner hath He: this am I commanded and I am the first of those who bow to His Will.”

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June 19, 2022
Allah says in His Holy book, “Say: ‘Truly my prayer and my service of sacrifice my life and my death are (all) for Allah the Cherisher of the Worlds: No partner hath He: this am I commanded and I am the first of those who bow to His Will.” (Al Qur’an, Sura Anam 161-162) The explanation of this verse can be understood by the following saying of the Messenger (may Allah bless and greet him): “Whoever befriended and loved someone for Allah and had enmity with someone for Allah; whoever gave for the sake of Allah and whoever stopped giving, did so for Allah; he has reached the zenith of his faith that is he became a complete believer.”
From the above verse we understand that Islam demands man to live and die only for Allah and his obedience should not be for anyone else besides Allah. The explanation of this Qur’anic verse through the words of the Messenger (may Allah bless and greet him) is that the real demand of faith is that a person’s love and enmity and the transactions of his worldly life should be solely and exclusively for God. The degree of exclusiveness in his worship to Allah renders him higher and higher degrees of faith. Some people think that such things are not a prerequisite to faith and one can be a Momin (believer) and a Muslim even without it. But this is a misconception and it is created because they do not differentiate between legal Islam and the real Islam which really counts before Allah.
In Fiqh (Jurisprudence) or legal Islam the condition of a man’s heart (inner state of mind) is not seen, neither are the signs and symptoms analysed which are a must to back one’s verbal acceptance of faith. If someone verbally accepts Allah and Messenger (may Allah bless and greet him), the Qur’an and the Hereafter and the other prerequisites of faith and after that he also fulfils the necessary conditions through which he procures the proof of his acceptance as a Muslim, then he will be taken in the fold of Deen and all dealings with him will have to be done considering him to be a Muslim. Although this acceptance forms the legal and social foundation of Muslim civilization, it is applicable only in this world and not in the Hereafter. Thus anyone who proclaims the Shahadah enters Muslim society with full (Sharaiee) legal, moral and social rights. Marital ties are established, inheritance is divided and other cultural relations are established. But in the Hereafter, the salvation of man and being declared a believer or Muslim is not based on this legal acceptance but on the degree of the person’s acceptance in his heart and his self submission to Allah. The verbal confession that is made in this world is only for the Qazi of the Shari’ah, the general public and the Muslims because they can only see what is external. But Allah sees a person’s batin (what is inside him) and measures his Iman (faith). Allah evaluates a person by the way he spent his life. Was it for Allah or for someone else? If it was for Allah then he is a Muslim and Momin but if it was for someone else then he is neither Momin nor Muslim.
This is the difference between legal Islam and real Islam. If you ponder over it, you will realise that the results these differences throw up will be quite similar both in this world and the Hereafter.
Thus Muslims can be divided into two types. One kind of Muslims is of those who accept Allah and His Messenger (may Allah bless and greet him) and accept Islam as a religion but do not accept that Islam should govern and rule each and every aspect of life. Thus these Muslims may hold deep reverence and follow Islam quite rigorously in certain aspects of Islam like personal worship, in the verbal remembrance (Zikr) of God, observing certain prohibitions in eating, drinking and some social transactions and all such things which can be described as adhering to religious norms but other than this, all the other aspects of their life are quite divergent from their expected practice as Muslims. Their deeds are dictated by their egos, following personal interests and those of their country, community or someone else. If they have enmity with someone or wage a war with someone, they do so for some personal or worldly reasons. Their business transactions, relationships, interaction with children, family and society are largely dictated by purely worldly reasons.
The other kind of Muslims is of those who submit themselves completely to Islam. Their entire personality is submerged as Muslims.?They exemplify Muslim character as loving fathers, honest businessmen and dutiful employees. Their emotions, wishes, thoughts, ideas and opinions, their hatred, likes and dislikes are all surrendered to Islam. Islam has overpowered their hearts and minds, body and soul. If they meet somebody then it is for Islam; if they fight someone that is for Islam; if they give somebody then they do so because it is enjoined by Islam and if they withhold, they do so because Islam says that it should be withheld. Then this pattern of behaviour should not only be on an individual level but their public life should also be established on the foundations of Islam. As a Jamaat (party) their personality should only be established for Islam and their entire public behaviour must be based on principles of Islam.
[Translated by ARSHAD SHAIKH from a speech by SYED ABUL ALA MAUDOODI later published in Roodad Jamaat-e-Islami, Vol. 3]