The Criticalness of the Covenant in Islam
Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2024 11:09 am
In my discussion with Godelian here and other Muslims, it seem many Muslims do not give much emphasis to the inherent covenant [divine contract] they have entered into with Allah which is effected when they declared the sahada or by default as children of Muslim parents.
All Muslims are inherently effected by the Primordial Covenant as in Q7:172.
Prophet Muhammad was assigned the task as Reminder [Warner] to remind Muslims of their covenant with Allah and renew the covenant with the Sahada and that they must be aware of the terms of the covenant which is in the Quran [the only direct word of God].
As such believers cannot plea ignorance on Judgment Day.
Many Muslims like Godelian focused on figh i.e. jurisprudence [man-made laws] and not on the absolute compliance with the terms of the covenant. Based on what God stated in the Quran, they could have underperformed their divine duty for not obeying the words of Allah as in the Quran.
There are different types of covenants referred in the Quran;
4. Types of Covenants in the Qurʾān
4.1. Allāh and Humanity
4.1.1. Upholding Covenants, Pledges, and Promises Made in Allāh’s Name
4.1.2. Promise of Allāh
4.1.3. Alleged/Claimed Promise of Allāh
4.2. Allāh and the Prophets
4.2.1. Covenant with Adam
4.2.2. Covenant with Abraham
4.2.3. Covenant with Moses
4.3. Allāh and People of Scripture
4.4. Prophet Muḥammad and People of His Time
4.4.1. Covenant with the Believers (mu’minīn)
4.4.2. Covenant with the Hypocrites (munāfiqīn)
4.4.3. Covenant with the Polytheists (mush’rikīn)
4.5. Covenants within Family
4.6. Covenants between Spouses
What is most critical to a Muslim is the covenant between Allah and the individual believers [4.4.1] as that will determined whether the believer gained merit to have eternal life in paradise or sent to the eternal burning hell.
Here are some articles on the Covenants of Islam advocating on a focus of the covenants, especially the covenant between Allah and the believers.
References:
(Recommended for Reading)
Primordial Covenant as the Basis of Religion:
The Qur’ānic Mῑthāq of Alastu According to Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas
Mohd Farid bin Mohd Shahran
https://tafhim.ikim.gov.my/index.php/ta ... e/view/169
Higher Objectives (maqāṣid) of Covenants in Islam: A Content Analysis of ’ahd and mīthāq in the Qurʾān
Halim Rane
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/4/514
Others
Kadi, Wadad. “The Primordial Covenant and Human History in the Qur’ān.” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 147. no. 4 (December 2003).
Lumbard, Joseph E. B. “Covenant and Covenants in the Qur’ān.” Journal of Qur’ānic Studies 17, no. 2 (2015): 1.
Sahibe Alam. “The Meaning of Covenant in the Qur’ān and the Sunnah.” The Indian Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies 03, Issue 01 (January–March 2018).
Darnell, Robert Carter. The Idea of Divine Covenant in the Qur’ān. Ph.D. Dissertation. Michigan: University of Michigan, 1970.
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All Muslims are inherently effected by the Primordial Covenant as in Q7:172.
"The overarching maqāṣid of Covenants in the Qurʾān is to convey the terms and conditions by which Allāh has established human beings on Earth and for success in the afterlife." [Halim Rane]Q7:172 And when your Lord took from the backs of the Children of Adam their descendants and called them to witness against themselves, “Am I not your Lord?” They said, “Indeed we testified.” (This), lest you should say on the Day of Judgement: “Of this we were never mindful.”
Prophet Muhammad was assigned the task as Reminder [Warner] to remind Muslims of their covenant with Allah and renew the covenant with the Sahada and that they must be aware of the terms of the covenant which is in the Quran [the only direct word of God].
As such believers cannot plea ignorance on Judgment Day.
Many Muslims like Godelian focused on figh i.e. jurisprudence [man-made laws] and not on the absolute compliance with the terms of the covenant. Based on what God stated in the Quran, they could have underperformed their divine duty for not obeying the words of Allah as in the Quran.
The paradigm through which the modern world has come to know and experience Islam is heavily influenced by a sharī‘a law orientation.
Kamali observes “the tendency to over-legalize Islam is common across the board in the writings of both Muslims and orientalists” (2006, p. 1).
This, he regards as “an exaggeration which does not find support in the Qurʾān and Sunnah” (p. 1).
Ebrahim Moosa’s (2015) study of the madrassa system in South Asia finds an overemphasis on legal thought in institutions of higher Islamic learning.
Mohammad Omar FarooQ (2022) observes that an emphasis on the legal aspects of Islam “leads to legalism where the principles, norms and values based on the Qurʾān and Sunnah are largely ignored or compromised.
Halim Rane
There are different types of covenants referred in the Quran;
4. Types of Covenants in the Qurʾān
4.1. Allāh and Humanity
4.1.1. Upholding Covenants, Pledges, and Promises Made in Allāh’s Name
4.1.2. Promise of Allāh
4.1.3. Alleged/Claimed Promise of Allāh
4.2. Allāh and the Prophets
4.2.1. Covenant with Adam
4.2.2. Covenant with Abraham
4.2.3. Covenant with Moses
4.3. Allāh and People of Scripture
4.4. Prophet Muḥammad and People of His Time
4.4.1. Covenant with the Believers (mu’minīn)
4.4.2. Covenant with the Hypocrites (munāfiqīn)
4.4.3. Covenant with the Polytheists (mush’rikīn)
4.5. Covenants within Family
4.6. Covenants between Spouses
What is most critical to a Muslim is the covenant between Allah and the individual believers [4.4.1] as that will determined whether the believer gained merit to have eternal life in paradise or sent to the eternal burning hell.
Here are some articles on the Covenants of Islam advocating on a focus of the covenants, especially the covenant between Allah and the believers.
References:
(Recommended for Reading)
Primordial Covenant as the Basis of Religion:
The Qur’ānic Mῑthāq of Alastu According to Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas
Mohd Farid bin Mohd Shahran
https://tafhim.ikim.gov.my/index.php/ta ... e/view/169
Higher Objectives (maqāṣid) of Covenants in Islam: A Content Analysis of ’ahd and mīthāq in the Qurʾān
Halim Rane
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/4/514
Others
Kadi, Wadad. “The Primordial Covenant and Human History in the Qur’ān.” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 147. no. 4 (December 2003).
Lumbard, Joseph E. B. “Covenant and Covenants in the Qur’ān.” Journal of Qur’ānic Studies 17, no. 2 (2015): 1.
Sahibe Alam. “The Meaning of Covenant in the Qur’ān and the Sunnah.” The Indian Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies 03, Issue 01 (January–March 2018).
Darnell, Robert Carter. The Idea of Divine Covenant in the Qur’ān. Ph.D. Dissertation. Michigan: University of Michigan, 1970.
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