Islamic Way of Life

Assignment

The Islamic Worlview (UNGS 2030)

“Islamic Way of Life”

Abul A‘la Al-Mawdudi

1. The Islamic Concept Of Life

The chief characteristic of Islam is that it makes no distinction between the spiritual and the secular in life. Its aim is to shape both individual lives as well as society as a whole in ways that will ensure that the Kingdom of God may really be established on earth and that peace, contentment and well being may fill the world. The Islamic way of life is thus, based on a unique concept of man’s place in the universe.

Basic principles

1. God, who is the Creator, the Ruler and the Lord of the universe, has created man and provided him with a temporary home, which is the earth. He has power to thinking, understanding, free will and has given him the power to distinguish right from wrong.

2. God alone was the Lord. The entire universe should submit to Him. Man not think himself free and must realize that this earth is not his permanent abode. He has been created to live on it only for a probationary period and, he will return to his Lord, to be judged according to the way he has spent that period. The only right course for man is to acknowledge God as the only Lord, and to follow His guidance. His sole objective should be to merit the approval of Allah. If man follows righteousness and godliness, he will be rewarded in this world and the next. If he chooses to follow the course of godlessness and evil, and in the life to come he will face the prospect of that abode of pain and misery which is called Hell.

3. God set man on earth and provided the very first human beings (Adam and Eve) with guidance as to how they were to live. The very first man received revealed knowledge from God Himself, and was told the correct way to live. This code of life was Islam, the attitude of complete submission to Allah. It was this religion which...