Islam and Self-Actualization

By: Liaquat Ali 1/20/2002

Revised 2/12/2002

(Work in progress)

The word for religion in Arabic is “madhab.” This word is never used in the Qur’an. The word that is used in the Qur’an in conjunction with Islam is: “Deen.” Deen is a System of Life defined by the Qur’an.

In order to understand Islam as a System of Life, you need to understand a few Qur’anic concepts:

God: God, as defined be the Qur’an, is a transcendent Being that has no Beginning and no End. Please refer to chapter 2 : verse 255 at:

http://65.219.60.31/m12390/QXP-First-Edition-Text.doc

Human: A creation of God that has a beginning but has no end.

Self or Ego: The transcendent element of a human.

Divine Laws: God created Laws that He uses to run His universes and everything else beyond. Although He has power to act on an ad hoc basis, since He is a Just God, He does not break His Own Laws.

Laws of Requital: One of the most important Divine Laws that every action has its consequences.

Free Will: The Merciful God-given free will to humans. Although human has free will, it works within the confines of the Divine Laws.

Afterlife: The level, in the evolution of the human self, after the physical death.

Heaven: The elevated level for self.

Hell: The undesirable level for self.

For a discussion about certain related topics, such as, Satan, jinns, angels, etc., please read, Satan As I Understand.

Having taught “Explore Your Potential” seminar that was largely based on Abraham Maslow’s work, in the late 80s, here I would like to bring his classic Hierarchy of Needs pyramid (Maslow 1954) to help explain the concept of Islam as a Deen.

In the interest of containing the size of this article, I encourage readers to refer to http://www.ship.edu/~cgboeree/maslow.html for a detailed description of the Hierarchy of Needs pyramid. The most important thing to remember is that the lower level needs must be satisfied in order to move to the next level until you get the self-actualization level.

The Deen, that the Qur’an defines, comprises of:

- Communal constitution or bylaws to provide physiological, safety, belonging, and esteem needs of its members.

- Individual guide to relate and reciprocate to his/her community and its members.

- A guide for the self to reach the higher levels of Heaven and to avoid Hell.

What does self-actualization in this life buys us for the Afterlife? Well, think of getting to Heaven as a perfectly healthy baby born in one of the most privileged families in one of the riches countries in the world, versus a physically challenged baby born among the social outcasts in one of the poorest countries. That is similar to being in Hell.

Now, why are developed countries not so eager to implement Islam, the Deen? The truth is that they have already implemented many aspects of the Deen in their societies. They may call it Magna Carta of 1215 AD, or Bill of Rights of 1791 AD, or Universal Declaration of 1948 AD, but all they have done is to borrow from the Wisdom that God already revealed to Muhammad in the 7^th Century. UNESCO’s Manifesto 2000 is another such example of the “plagiarism” of the Qur’anic ideas.

In summary, Islam defines a System of Life where all humans are treated equal, where everyone lives in peace and harmony, and most importantly, all have the opportunity to "actualize" themselves so that their inner "selves" continue to climb to higher and higher levels. The life is treated as a continuum where the physical death takes humans to the next level of evolution. The actualization, as guided by the Qur'an, in this life is necessary to "make" it for the next levels of evolution. That is Heaven.

What about Islam, the religion? As I mentioned earlier, the Qur’an does not use the word “madhab”. Ironically, various Muslim sects call themselves “madahib” (plural for madhab). You have Hanafi, Shafai, Maliki, Hanbali, and Jafria (Shia) madahib. You also have Salafis, Wahabis, Deobandi, Barailwi, etc.

Islam, the Deen, is: unique and is based on the Qur’an. It is tolerant, individual-oriented, shuns clergy, and considers all human race as one community. The more you adapt it, the more you benefit form it – individually or collectively.

On the other hand, each of the Muslim religions used Islam, the Deen, as the initial template. But along the way, they became heavily influenced by Muslim personalities and historical events. The worst part is that most of them are dogmatic, individual suppressing, clergy-driven, superstitious and intolerant toward non-Muslims as well as other Muslims who are not like them.

Having learnt about Islam, the Deen, it should be very clear that the yearning of Muslim masses to implement Islam in their countries is natural. It is just like a crowd of thirsty people wishing to get to a sole water source. They will continue to make their move towards the water. Unfortunately, most of them are ignorant, and don’t know the difference between Islam, the Deen and Islam, the religion. Now based on which country they live in, when they ask for Islam, the Deen, all they get is Islam, the “regional version of religion.”

Some Muslim as well as non-Muslim religions may “help” poor to cope with the challenges of poverty by providing appropriate lullabies, such as, virgins and palaces in paradise, or unconditional salvation by certain Messiah, but the Deen is interested in quickly getting the masses out of poverty, and setting them on the path of self-actualization. Therefore, it requires a collective will of the members of the community.

Since America has, albeit unconsciously, implemented significant portions of Islam, the Deen, in its boundaries, Muslims in America are in a unique position to implement a major part of Islam, the Deen, in their own lives, and to share it with their compatriots.

Even before September 11, seventy-one percent (71%) of mosque representatives have called for contemporary interpretation of the primary Islamic sources (CAIR 2001.) Islamic Speakers Bureau of New York is involved in efforts to educate Muslims and non-Muslims about Islam, the Deen. One such effort is the involvement in the Qur’an As I Understand project (http://www.galaxydastak.com/cgi-bin/forum/webbbs_config.pl).

References:

Maslow, A.H., Motivation and Personality, 1954

CAIR, The Mosque in America: A National Portrait, 2001