The Quran calls on all those who profess faith to enter Islam in entirety (udkhuloo fi al-silmi qaffah). What does this entry in its entirety imply?
First it denotes a change of outlook about human existence and about the nature of the world and our life in it. About human existence it teaches us that ‘body’ is not everything. What matters is the ‘soul’ which inhabits the body and uses it as its vehicle. Body is not irrelevant but it is not to be an animal body; it is to be nurtured and used for noble purposes under the control and direction of the soul. And for the edification and upbringing of the soul we need prophetic guidance.
About the world in which we live, it teaches us that it is not everything. Our life here is an ephemeral sojourn and a prelude to the Hereafter. In this brief stay of ours in the world we are on trial. If we live this life according to Divine guidance we shall have eternal bliss in the Hereafter. If we live like animals, disregarding Divine guidance, a terrible fate awaits us in the Hereafter.
This view of human life and the nature of this world supplies us with a mould into which individual life has to be cast. That is to say one’s values and ways of day-to-day living are to be derived from one’s belief that body is not the end and values of truth, justice and honesty are not to be sacrificed for this transitory world to buy the perdition of the eternal life of the Hereafter.
Having cast his individual character in this mould a believer strives to his utmost to change the collective life also by winning over other individuals to his way of belief and action. In this he may not always meet with success. The situation may not be conducive or he may be cast by birth in a society where his struggle may not bear the desired fruit. He has, in any case, earned Allah’s pleasure and the salvation of the Hereafter if he has changed his individual life and tried his best to change other lives. That is what the Quran means when it says:
And if they argue with you, say I have surrendered my self to Allah and so have those who follow me. And tell those who have received the Book and those who read not, “Do you also surrender?” If they do, they are rightly guided, and if they turn away, your duty is only to convey the message to them. (2:20)                  

Lastupdate on : Wed, 9 Jan 2013 21:30:00 Makkah time
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