They form, instead, a relationship between man and his Lord.

They form, instead, a relationship between man and his Lord. Such a relationship possesses a spiritual role controlling the relationship bet- ween man and his brother man. In both cases, however, we find that humanity, historically, lives a certain number of fixed needs faced equally by the man of the age of oil as well as that of the age of electricity.

The system of rites in Islam is the fixed solution for the fixed needs of this sort, and for problems whose nature is not sequential: instead, they are problems which face man during his individual, social and cultural build-up. Such solution, call- ed "rites", is still alive in its objectives until today, becoming an essential condition for man to overcome his problems and succeed in pract- ising his civilized vocations.

In order to clearly know all this, we have to point out some fixed lines of needs and problems in man's life, and the role rites play in satisfying such needs and overcoming such problems. These lines are as follows:- The need to be linked to the Absolute; The need for subjectivity in purpose and self-denial; The need for inner feeling of respon- sibility to guarantee execution. These are the details of such outlines: 1.

THE NEED TO BE LINKED TO THE ABSOLUTE The system of rites is a way to organize the practical aspect of the relationship between man and his Lord; therefore, it cannot separate his evaluation from that of this very relationship and of its role in man's life! From here, both of these questions are inter-related:- First: What is the value achieved by the relationship between man and his Lord for this man in his civilized march?

And is it a fixed value treating a fixed need in this march, or is it a sequential one linked to timely needs or limited problems, losing its significance at the end of the stage limiting such needs and prob- lems? Second: What is the role practised by rites as regarding that relationship and the extent of its significance as a practical dedication to the relation between man and God? What follows is a summary of the necessary explanation concerning both questions:- Previous…