DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DEEN AND RELIGION (CSS 2016)
Introduction:
Islam is not only a religion but also a Deen. Deen is a complete code of life. Religion deals man’s relations with God whereas Deen deals both with man’s relation with God and his fellow beings. Religion deals with private affairs of life whereas Deen covers all aspects of life, individual as well as collective. In other words Deen is all embracing term which includes religio-socio-politico-economic system. It touches upon the material as well as spiritual dimensions of human existence and insists that all our thoughts and deeds should be performed with the will of God. In other words, religion deals with sacred and spiritual covering the belief system, mode of worships and observance of certain social customs and rituals However, Deen covers both sacred and secular aspects of man. The sacred part is same as covered as by religion; the secular part is the guidance of divine code in the mundane affairs like political, social, economic, judicial aspects of man and society.
What is Religion?
The word religion is commonly used in a narrow sense, its scope being limited to a set of dogmas, some rituals for worship, and a number of social customs to celebrate important life-events.
What is Deen?
Contrary to religion deen covers all aspects of human life. It covers both spiritual/sacred matters and mundane/secular affairs of this world. In brief, religion deals with man’s relation with God; while Deen deals both man’s relation with God as well as his fellow beings. Deen provides guidance in the individual and collective affairs. It offers a belief system system, concept of worship to fulfill the spiritual and metaphysical needs of individual life, and provides social, political, economic, legal codes and cultural norms for the bellife and society-taken as one community.
When the term Deen is used for Islam, it obviously means a system of life where Allah is worshipped and obeyed, not just in the narrow religious sense, but in a manner Includes all aspects of human life.
الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا –
“This day, I have perfected your Deen for you, completed my favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your Deen”. (al-Maidah 5:3)
Islam is based on and rooted in a well-integrated set of beliefs describing the nature of ultimate reality, meaning of human life, and the final destiny. In addition to this essential faith modes of worship (Salat, Zakat, Siyam, and Hajj) and various social customs are also Integral parts of Islam.
Hence an impartial critic like Dr. Michael Hart (b.1932) is compelled to admit that “My choice of Mohammad (PBUH) to lead the list of the world’s most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels”
Meanings of ‘Deen’
- One meaning is honour, government, empire, monarchy and rulership
- The second meaning is quite opposite to it, le. subordination, obedience, slavery, servitude and subjection.
Comparison of Deen and Religion
Religion Deen
| Religion is merely some sort of subjective experience and is concerned only with the so-called private relationship between God and man | Deen is an objective reality and a system of collective life. |
| Religion does not afford us any objective criterion by which we could determine whether or not our actions are producing the desired results. | The aim of Deen on the other hand is the welfare and progress of all mankind, and the character and constitution of a society indicates whether or not it is founded upon the Divine Law. |
| Religion induces man to flee from struggle of life. | Deen gives man power to challenge fate, and provides energy for a life of activity and self-development, |
| Religion treats the world of matter with contempt and calls upon man to renounce it. It promises paradise only in the Hereafter as a reward for the renunciation of the material world | In a social order governed by Deen, the development of a collective and harmonious life correctly indicates whether or not the people are pursuing the right course |
| Every follower of a Religion is satisfied that he has established a communion with the Almighty, and the objective of each individual is his own salvation. | Deen, enjoins the conquest of matter and leads man to immeasurable heights of attainment. It exhorts him to seek well-being and happiness in this world as well as felicity in the life Hereafter. |
| Religion encourages belief in fatalism, and this tends to dissuade man from active life and self-development. | Deen treats fear as a form of polytheism and seeks to make men courageous, daring and self-reliant. |