Volume 2, No 3, Summer 1992

"DIN" IN THE QUR'AN -- Intellect and Language

Concepts such as DIN (RELIGION) have been corrupted by their contemporary usage, and moreover, this corruption has become the essence of them. By comparing the contemporary uses with the completeness and consistency of their use in the Qur'an, we can expose the illusion that has been invented to perpetuate the fraud. In other words, the relationship between the Qur'anic use and the contemporary use of these words and concepts is like the relationship between the transformation of Musa's staff into a serpent and the illusion of the sorcerers' strings as snakes.

Here is a summary of the use of "DIN" in the Qur'an, a grammatical map:

• Allah (chosen/ordained) for you the DIN
• Allah (establish) for them their DIN
• Allah said: I perfected DIN
• I have chosen for you al-Islam as DIN
• Allah send messenger with the DIN of truth that may cause it to prevail over DIN
• Allah said: people of scripture! stress not in your DIN other than the truth
• would you teach Allah your DIN?
• the DIN (for/with/of) Allah
• the DIN of truth
• pure DIN is for Allah
• making (their/my) DIN pure for Allah
• keeping DIN pure for Allah
• on the day of DIN the command is Allah's
• establish the DIN
• pharaoh said: Moses will alter your DIN
• according to king's DIN
• someone (follows/follows-your/slanders/may-seek-help-in-the-matter-of/set-purpose-for-the-right/denies/becomes-a-renegate-from-someone's) DIN
• give the lie to someone about the DIN
• (no-compulsio/no-hardship/to-gain-sound-knowledge/brothers/who-is-better) in DIN
• the day of DIN
• have they partners made lawful for them in their DIN that which Allah allowed not
• DIN will happen
• to war against someone on account of DIN
• (they-are-in-dispair-of/they-will-fight-till-they-made-you-renegates-from/they-assail) your DIN
• people of scripture (exaggerate-in-their-DIN/and-disbelievers-make-a-jest-and-sport-of-your-DIN)
• they take their DIN for pastime and jest
• (they-split-up/they-sunder) their DIN and become schimatics
• their DIN had (deluded/beguiled) them
• their partners make their DIN obscure for them
• it deceived them regarding their DIN
• if you are in doubt of my DIN

See how "DIN" is hooked up to "MILLET":

004.125:

who is better in DIN than one who surrendered one's purpose to Allah while doing good and follows the MILLET of Abraham, the upright, Allah chose Abraham for friend.
(ahsenu=better, esleme=surrendered, veche=purpose, muhsin=good, TEBEA=follow, MILLET, Abraham, hanif=upright, halilen=friend)

002.120:

and the jews will not be pleased with you, nor the christians, till you follow their MILLET. Say: guidance of Allah is guidance. And if you should follow their desires after the knowledge which had come unto you, then would you have from Allah no protecting friend nor helper.
(jews, christians, TEBEA=follow, ILM=knowledge, veliy=friend(?), HEDA=guidance, HEVA=desires)

022.078:

He had chosen you and had not laid upon you in DIN any hardship; the MILLET of your father Abraham. He had named you muslims of old time and in this (scripture)...
(dini-min-haracin=din-with-no-hardship, millet, Abraham, muslimin)

006.162:

say: as for me, my Lord had guided me unto a straight path, a right DIN, the MILLET of Abraham, the upright, who was no idolater....
(hedani=guided, sratin-mustakim=straight-path, dinen-kiyemen=right- din, hanif=upright, mushrikin=idolater)

I think there are enough examples here in the Qur'an which give you a solid overview of how you can use this word "DIN" without ending up in the maze of metaphysicians' "DIN=RELIGION"?! Keep this as a record so that we know where we are when you use this word "DIN" and someone else uses it. Our aim is to have a clear, functional language so that we can communicate and use INTELLECT (ÙAQL). Let me give you an extremely valuable tip, if you are really willing to grab the workings of a language, then you should start from "will=SHÙA", because this is the knot-head which will lead you to other words in an orderly fashion, so that you may get full access to INTELLECT (ÙAQL). Here is a simile for you:

If you don't know how to use "UNIX", how can you gain access to a UNIX-machine and utilize all the goodies of it?

If you don't know how to use the words of language, then how can you gain access to INTELLECT?

You've got the right, but what is missing?

How can you ACCESS THE INTELLECT without a sound LANGUAGE?