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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Islam and the Contemporary Man Chapter 11: Some Objections and the Answers Thereto An Objection to the Definition of Islam Objection On page four of “ Shi‘ah dar Islam ”, the following remark is made: “ Islam etymologically means surrender and obedience.”[^1] Though this definition is etymologically correct, in the Islamic culture, islam applies exclusively to the religion preached by the Noble Prophet (“That which Muhammad brought”).

According to the definition of Islam you offer in that book, we would not be justified in construing Qur’anic verse, وَمَنْ يَبْتَغِ غَيْرَ الْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا فَلَنْ يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ “Should anyone follow a religion other than Islam, it shall never be accepted from him…” [^2] to mean that Islam is the ultimate religion, for islam , according to your explanation, means obedience, which can take the form of a multiplicity of religions no one of which would be superior to the others.

Your definition of islam disagrees with hadith s that confirm the popular understanding of islam . (A number of these hadith s is recorded in the second volume of “ Usul al-Kafi ”.) Furthermore, there is universal consensus that islam is the name of the particular religion God revealed to Muhammad.[^3] Reply Let me begin by quoting what I have said in “ Shi‘ah dar Islam ”: “ Islam etymologically means surrender and obedience.

The Holy Qur’an calls the religion which invited men toward this end “ islam ” since its general purpose is the surrender of man to the laws governing the Universe and men, with the result that through this surrender he worships only the One God and obeys only His commands.” Where do I say that islam has only one meaning and that is its etymologic meaning or that wherever islam appears in the Qur’an or hadith s it denotes solely this meaning?

What I have said concerns solely the question of appellation and nothing more. You also acknowledge the etymologic meaning of islam in your letter: “ Islam is absolute submission to God. This, however, does not become manifest unless one utters the two testifications of faith and abides by Islamic rules.” At any rate, islam is the name of this sacred religion. This usage of islam as the name of a particular religion does not disown its etymologic meaning.

As a matter of fact, in Islamic sources, the word is used in both senses.

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