Dn: What is it? Where do we get it from? What is its purpose?

Dr. Khalid Zaheer

Dn is the message God sent to the

mankind through His chosen people called
messengers. The description of what this
message constitutes has been made in the
Qur'an four times.

A one-time mention of a reality in the book of

God is enough for creating confidence in the
believer's mind about its significance.
Imagine the significance of a concept that has
been described in almost the same words in
the Qur'an four times!

1. The first description of Dn in the Qur'an is in Surah al-Baqarah where God Almighty
mentions the prayer of two of His devoted messengers, Ibrahim and Ismail,
alaihimussalam, which they made while constructing the Ka'bah, the house of God.
They said:

"Our Lord! Send among them (the people of Makkah and its surroundings)
a messenger from within them who would read before them your verses,
teach them al-Kitab and al-Hikmah, and do their Tazkia; indeed You are
Mighty, Wise." (2:129)
2. Another verse is mentioning the same message in the same surah suggesting that the
prayer was later accepted by God:

"Thus He sent His messenger to you from within you who reads before you
His verses, (and thus) does your Tazkia, by teaching you al-Kitab and alHikmah, and by teaching you what you did not know." (2:151)

3. The third mention is in the next surah (Ali Imran) wherein God is informing believers of
His favour He bestowed upon them in the form of religion (Dn) He gave them. He says:

"God indeed showered His favour on believers when He sent His messenger
to them from within them who reads before them His verses, does their
Tazkia, and teaches them al-Kitab and al-Hikmah, while they were in clear
misguidance before that." (3:164)
4. The fourth one is in Surah al-Jumu'ah. It says:

"It is indeed He Who sent among the unlettered a messenger from within
them who reads before them His verses, does their Tazkia, and teaches them
al-Kitab and al-Hikmah, while they were in clear misguidance before that."
(62:2)
These four verses clarify the following three main things:
1. Source of Dn
2. al-Kitab and al-Hikmah
3. Tazkia

1. Source of Dn
Religion comes from only one source: The messenger of God, alaihissalam. Each verse is
clarifying that God has sent His messenger to send the message of His religion. The entire
religion comes from the messenger of God. The topic would be discussed in detail in the
coming chapter Sources of Dn.

2. al-Kitab and al-Hikmah

The message of Dn which is delivered through reading of God's verses is comprised
of al-Kitab and al-Hikmah.
Al-Kitab
The first part of Dn mentioned in the four verses is al-Hikmah. The Qur'an uses this word to
mean the law which is called Shari'ah.

"Believers! The fast has been made obligatory upon you as it was
made upon those before you so that you become fearful of God" (2:183)
Thus Al-Kitab is the law which is called Shari'ah.
The commonly understood meaning of the word kitab is book. How can we say that al-Kitab
means the law and not the book?
Every language has words which carry more than one meaning. It is the context in which a
word is used that would decide which one of the possible meanings it has been used for in a
particular text.
In the Qur'an, for example, the word ain is used both for spring (see 18:86) and eye (see
5:45). However, when the word has been used in Surah al-Ghashiah, for example, wherein blessings
of the paradise are described, the word ain is followed by an adjective jariah (flowing). This ain can
only be conveying the meaning of spring (see 88:12)
Similarly, when the Qur'an mentions its rules, it at times mentions it by using a verb which
shares the same basic letters (ka ta ba) that are in al-Kitab. The Qur'an, for example, says: "Believers!
Fasting has been made obligatory (kutiba 'alaikum) on you ..." (2:183) Also see verses 2:178,180,216.
Although the word kitab also means book (see 2:2), but in the four verses mentioned above,
the word has been used to convey the sense of law, obligation, and expectation.

(18:86)

(5:45)



(88:12)





(2:178)

(2:180)

(2:216)

Al-Hikmah
The other part of Dn mentioned in the four verses is al-Hikmah. Al-Hikmah is the
moral principles which are universally shared by the entire humanity and belief in the
unseen realities.
a) Al-Hikmah: Universally shared moral principles
The Qur'an uses al-Hikmah to mean the moral principles all humans have been sent
with. After describing a number of moral expectations from humans like worshiping one
God, being good to parents, helping out poor relatives etc, God mentions the following in
Surah Bani Israil (also called Surah Isra) at the end of the description of those principles:

"This a is part of al-Hikmah your Lord has inspired to you..." (17:22-39)

Thus al-Hikmah includes moral principles which
are universally shared by all humans.
If al-Hikmah is universally shared moral
principles, why did God mention them in His
book? Don't we already know them?
The answer is that although we know them quite
clearly, we tend to forget them and therefore
need to be reminded regularly. The nature of our
worldly trial is such that this life has been made
attractive and we get absorbed in it at times so
much that we ignore our innate understanding of
right and wrong. That is why God's book is called
the reminder.

Did you know?

Gods book is called the reminder.
The famous verse in which God has
promised to preserve the Quran
says:

"Indeed We have revealed this

Reminder (al-Zikr) and indeed We
shall remain its guardians." (15:9)

b) Al-Hikmah: belief in the unseen realities

We have seen in the four verses mentioned at the beginning of this chapter that the
Qur'an uses al-Kitab and al-Hikmah together. What we see in one passage of the Qur'an is
that instead of al-Hikmah the word al-Iman (belief) has been used with al-Kitab.

"And thus we revealed to you an inspiration of our command. You did not know what
was al-Kitab nor al-Iman ... (42:52)
The Qur'an is thus clarifying that quite the same way as moral principles, belief in
unseen realities (al-Iman) is also included in the meaning of al-Hikmah.

Is there any relationship between al-Kitab and al-Hikmah?

Al-Kitab, the Shari'ah, is based on al-Hikmah. While we have a clear understanding of what is
morally good and what is bad, there are some occasions when we are unclear. It is in some of these
areas in which God gives His clear verdict in the form of Shari'ah.
For instance, the Qur'an tells us that we all know that depriving others of their wealth
unjustifiably is morally wrong. We also know that one way of getting wealth immorally is through
bribing officials. (2:188)
However, humans have never agreed on whether giving loans with a predetermined interest
on loan over and above the principal amount even when the borrower makes losses is morally
acceptable or not.
God gave His Shari'ah verdict that it is prohibited. (2:275) This verdict is based on the
understanding that it is unfair for the lender to ask the borrower to give him an amount more than
the principal even when he doesn't have anything to pay. (2:279)

If moral principles are universal, why are there differences in different societies
about them?
There are essentially two reasons for that.
1. One reason why we find societies responding apparently differently to moral principles is that
humans are capable of getting morally degenerated because of being influenced by a number of
external factors. For instance, the western society opted for exaggerated human freedom and
ended up degenerating the natural despise for obscenity in human nature. The eastern society
went for exaggerated personal interrelationship that created tendency to ignore the societal
rules. When moral principles are ignored for other considerations, the innate feeling of protest
against such violations gradually weakens and at times disappears completely. Thus moral
degeneration is caused.
2. Another reason why we find societies responding apparently differently to moral principles is
the manner ethical principles are applied can be different even when they are agreed upon. For
instance, it is a moral principle that we need to be helpful to people in need. But societies
respond differently to the needs of the poor. In many western countries, state machinery and
NGOs cater more actively to take care of the plight of the poor. In the eastern societies, families
and friends play a more active role. The moral impulse of helping the needy is felt in both
societies but the manner it is responded to is different. This creates an impression that there
are differences in different societies about moral principles whereas the difference is only in
the manner they are applied or the tools that are used.

(2:188)

(2:275)

(2:279)

3. Tazkia
We read in the four verses about the reality of Dn that the purpose why God gave it to
us is that He wanted our Tazkia to be done.
What is Tazkia? Tazkia has two components: purification and development. On the one
hand humans have come to this world with a tremendous potential to make moral and
spiritual progress but in the other hand the innate weaknesses in humans threaten to block
this progress. By going through the process of Tazkia, humans purify their souls by
overcoming their weaknesses. They are thus able to realize their moral and spiritual
potential.
Why Tazkia? God wants all humans to enter the beautiful world of paradise after
spending a morally and spiritually good life in this world. But He has decided to allow only
those people who will have done their Tazkia to enter the paradise. God has sent His
religion to enable humans to do Tazkia.
Verses of the Qur'an about Tazkia
There are several verses of the Qur'an that lead to the understanding that by going
through Tazkia one will be able to achieve ultimate success of entering the paradise. The
Qur'an says:

"By the soul and the way He perfected it, then breathed in it (the
understanding of) its evil and its piety, indeed the one who purified it has
succeeded and the one who has spoiled it has doomed." (91:7-10)
In another verse it says:

"He indeed shall be successful who purifies himself." (87:14)

In yet another passage the Almighty mentions the moral and spiritual condition of some
Muslims in this manner:

"There are others who have confessed their wrongdoing, who have done
some good deeds and some bad ones. It is likely that God will turn to them in
mercy. Surely, God is most forgiving, merciful." (9:102)

He asks the prophet, alaihissalam, to do the following about them:

"Take alms (sadaqah) out of their wealth to cleanse them and purify them..." (9:103)
In other words, the purpose of spending in God's way is to purify and cleanse one's
inner soul. That is indeed the purpose of the entire religion of God.
There is another important passage in the Qur'an regarding Tazkia that clarifies its role
in the success of the life hereafter. Talking about the Jew scholars who were expected to
accept the last prophet, alaihissalam, because of the clear evidences about his arrival in
their books but whom they rejected because they didn't want to compromise on their
worldly status as religious leaders, the Qur'an comments:

"Those who sell out God's covenant and their oaths for an ordinary price will have no
share in the life to come. God will neither speak to them nor cast a look at them on the
Judgment Day nor will He purify them. For them there shall be a grievous punishment."
(3:77)
The verse is indicating that there are some people who will be purified on the Judgment
Day, but those who will violate clear promises made to God will not even be purified on that
day. It shows two things:
1. It will not be possible for an individual to enter the paradise without being purified.
2. Some people will be purified on the Judgement Day if they will not have purified
themselves during the worldly life. This latter process of purification, according to some
ahadith, would involve spending a period of time in a hell-like place.
Discussion Summary
Let us summarize what we have seen above.
1. God sent His messenger, alaihissalam, with His Dn. Thus the only reliable source of
God's Dn is the messenger.
2. The messenger read out Qur'anic verses to give Dn which is comprised of al-Kitab (the
law, Shari'ah) and al-Hikmah (the moral law and beliefs).
3. The purpose of sending Dn was to ensure that humans get their Tazkia (purification and
development) done so that they could be eligible to enter the beautiful world of
paradise forever.