Studying Islam

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[quote]Asalamu Alaykum

think first we need to establish what exactly "religion" signifies or means in our world. Let us look to a purely academic definition of religion:
 
Oxtoby, in his World Religions (Oxford, 1996), defines religion in the following way:
 
"Religion is a sense of power beyond the human, apprehended rationally as well as emotionally, appreciated corporately as well as individually, celebrated ritually and symbolically as well as discursively, transmitted as a tradition in conventionalized forms and formulations that offer people an interpretation of experience, a guide to conduct, and an orientation to meaning and purpose in the world."
 
Further, academically, religion is defined with the presence of some or all of the following characteristics:
 
• Supernatural power, sacred/profane distinction 
• Ritual acts 
• Moral code 
• A sense of awe, mystical experience 
• Prayer or meditation 
• World view 
• Promise of well-being, inner harmony, peace, a new age, or an after life 
 
In the face of these definitions creeds such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Shinto, Tao, Hinduism, Buddhism and many other would be termed as religions. 
 
You will find many philosophical or sociological reasons explaining the origin of religion. However I believe that man is born with the insight and intellect to recognize that the intricacy of design and the magnificence of balance of the immeasurable creation around him could not be the result of some random accident but caused by a supernatural being. He yearns to know his creator and to attain the true world view which would describe for him the reality of purpose of all creation and of his own life.  
 
I believe God in His benevolence communicated to man the reality of creation, and Himself, a moral criterion in case of man's faltering and guidance for living. He did so by choosing people as His messengers to communicate His message to mankind. Thus formed divinely inspired codes of living or in other word religions. 
  
In other cases purely human endeavors to decipher reality and establish a holy way of life to reach the Divine resulted in codes of life which we also classify in accordance with the above definitions as religions.

Regards.[/quote]

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