Religion, as an inseparble feature in human life
1) Having rules and purposes in human life
There is no doubt that each member of the human race is naturally drawn to his fellow-men and that in his life in society he asts in ways which are interrelated and interconnected. His eating, drinking ,Sleepling, Keeping awake, taking, listening, sitting, walking, his social intercourse and meetings, at the same time that they are formally and exernally distinct, are invariabiy connected with each other. One cannot perform just any act in any placeor after any other act. There is an order which must be observed. There is, therefore, an order which governs the actions man performs which his ations cannot rebel. In reality, there acts all originate from a distinct source. That source is man's desire to possess a felicitous life, a life in which he can react to the greatest extent possible the objects of his desire, and be gratified. or, one could say that man wishes to provide in a more complete way for his needs in to order to continue his existence.
There is why man continually conforms his actions to rules and laws either devised by him or accepted from others, and why he selects a particular way of life for himself among all the other existing possibilities. He works in order to provide for his means of livelihood and expects his activities to be guided by laws and regulations that must be followed. In order to satisfy his sense of taste and overcome hunger and thirst, he eat and drinks, for he considers eating and drinking necessary for the continuation of his own happy existence. This rule could be multiplied by many other istances.
2) "Weltanschauung" as basis of rules and human life
The rules and laws that govern human existence depend for their acceptance on the basic beliefs that man has concerning the nature of universal existence, Of which he himself is a part, and also upon his judgment and evaluation of that existence. That the principles governing mans actions depend on his conception of being as a whole becomes clear if one meditates a moment on then different conceptions that people hold as to nature of world and of man. Those who conider the universe to be confined only to his material, sensible wold, and man himself to be completely material and therefore subject to annihilation when the breath of life leaves him at the moment of death, follow a way of life designed to provide for their material desires and transient mundane pleasures, They strive solely on this path, seeking to bring under their contor the natural conditions and factors of life.
Similary, there are those who, like the common people among idol-worshipers, consider the wold of nature to be created by a god above nature who has created the world especially for man and his goodnenss. Such men organize their lives so as to attract the pleasure of the god and not invite his anger.
They believe that if please the god he will multiply his bounty and make it lasting and if they anger him he will take his bounty away from them.on the other hand, such men as Zoroatrians, Jews, Christians, and Muslims follow the “high path” in this life for they believe in God and in mans eternal life, and consider man to be responsible for his good and evil acil. As a result they accept as proven the existence of a day of judgment (qiyamat) and follow a path that leads to felicity in both this wold and the next.
3) "Religion" as waltanschauung and rules for human life
The totality of there fundamental beliefe concerning the nature of man and the uninverse, and regulations in conformity with them with are applied to human life, is called religion (din). If there are divergences in there fundamental beliefs and regulations, they are called schools such as the sunni and the Shiite schools in IsIam and Nestorian in Christianity. We can there fore say that man, even if the does not believe in the Deity, can never be without religion if we recognize religion as a program for life based on firm belief. Religion can never be without religion if we recognize religion as a program for life based on firm belief. Religion can never be separated from life and is not simply a matter of ceremonial acts.
The Holy Quran asserts that man has no choice but to follow religion, which is a path that God has placed before man so that by teading it man can reach Him. Howere, those who have accepted that religion of the truth (Islam)march in all sincerity upon the path of God, while those have not accepted the religion of the truth have been diverted from the diving path and have followed the wrong road. The curse Allah is on evil – doers, who debar (men) from the path of Allah and would have it crooked ..’ (Quran,VII.44-45) ( This and all subsequent citations of the Quran are from The Meaning of the Glorious Koran, An Explanatory Translation by Mohammed Marmaduke pickthall, New York, New American Library,1953)
A) The meaning of Islam
Etymologically mean surrender and obedience. The Holy Quran calls the religion which invites men toward this end “IsIam since its general purpose is the surrender of man to the laws governing the uninverse and man, with the result that througt this surrender he worships only the one God and obeys only His commands. Who is better in religlion that he who surrendereth his pupose to Allah while doing good ( to men) and followeth the tradition of Abraham, the upright? ( Quran, IV, 125). “ say: 0
people of the Seripture! Come to an agreement between us and you: that we shall worship none but Allah, and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him and that none of us shall take others for lords beside Allah. And if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are they who have surrendered (unto Him) [( Quran, III, 64). “ 0 ye whe belive! come all of you, into submission ( unto Him) (Quran, II, 208). As the Holly Quran inform s us, the first person who called this religion “ IsIam and its followers “Muslims” was the prophet Abraham, upon who be peace. “ our Lord! And marke us submissive unto thee and of our seed a nation submissive unto thee( Quran, II,128) .” The faith of your father Abraham (is yours). He hath named you Muslims ( Quran, XXII, 78).
Which mean literally partisan or follower, refers to those who consider the succession to the prophet – may God s peaial and benediction be upon him. To be the special right of the family of the prophet and who in the field of the IsIam sciences.and culture follow the school of the Houshold of the prophet. A group of Zaydis who accept two caliphs beforeAli and in juris prudence follow AbuHanifah are also called shi ite because in contrast to umyyads and Abbaids they conider the later caliphate as belonging soley to Ali and his descendants.
Sources :
shiah - pages: 51 to 56