Islamic studies

Assignment # 1
Group member
Usmaan Khan (9398)
Taruj Tariq (9395)
HareemShoukat (9389)
Submitted to: Dr. AnwarullahTayyabi

Introduction:
Many attempts have been made to describe the
religion but every theory has its own limitation.
Many people focus on a very narrow definition that
matches the individual's own religion, but few
others. Many definitions focus too narrowly on only
a few aspects of religion; they tend to exclude
those religions that do not fit well. Religions have
various different aspects.
The word religion is derived from Latin "religio"
(what attaches or retains, moral bond, anxiety of
self-consciousness, scruple) used by the Romans,
before Jesus Christ, to indicate the worship of the
demons .The origin of "religio" is debated since
antiquity. Cicero said it comes from "relegere" (to
read again, to re-examine carefully, to gather) in
the meaning "to carefully consider the things
related to the worship of gods".
According to various defilations we can conclude
that religion is the set of beliefs, feelings, and
practices that define the relations between human
being and sacred or divinity. The majority of
religions have developed starting from a revelation
based on the exemplary history of a nation, of a
prophet or a wise man who taught an ideal of life.

Views on Religion:
Religion can be understood through some ideas.
The ideas are as follows:
1. Religion and nature: Religion has its own
origins in and power from the encounter of the
natural world. Which provokes fears and threaten
order in response, religion develops as an attempt
to appease natural forces that are beyond human
control.
2. Religion and Divinity: Religion marks the
human encounter with God or Gods. Scriptures,
rituals, ethics and faith are built around the
meeting between divine and human kind
3. Religion and the sacred: Religion is the
human response to the sacred that which is
separated from the everyday. The sacred have
particular value because its remind humanity of its
origins and its contact with a power that is beyond
this world.

4. Religion and social: Religion binds

community together through various forms of
beliefs and practices. It is an institute that connect
people through important ideas
So we can sum up that religion is a particular
system of faith , belief and worship of superhuman
controlling power especially a personal God or
Gods.

`Why Aspect of Religion :

To understand what religion is and what is its role
in the life of men, we should first of all know its
definition.
Religion may briefly be defined as under:
Religion (din) is an all-round movement in the light
of faith in Allah and a sense of responsibility for the
formation of thought and belief, for the promotion
of high principles of human morality for the
establishment of good relations among members
of the society and the elimination of every sort of
discrimination.

. To be a little more elaborate, it may be said that

we require religion for the following reasons:
1. Sanction for the Principles of Morality
2. Power to Endure Adversities of Life
3. Encounter with Ideological Vacuum
4. An Aid to the Progress of Science and Knowledge
The reason that we need religion is that it gives us
something to believe in. People need to believe
that there is a reason for what they are doing and
that there is a reason for life. Religion provides this
for them. This is what gives people the desire to go
out and work every day and to try to make the
world a better place.

Basic Functions of Religion:

Both from individual and social point of view
religion perform the following functions:
1. Religion provides mental peace:
Human life is uncertain. He struggles for his
survival amidst the uncertainties, insecurities and
dangers, Some-times he feels helplessness. It is
the religion which consoles and encourages him in

all such time of crisis. Religion gives right shelter to

him. He gets mental peace and emotional support.
It encourages him to face his life and problems.
2. Religion explains individual suffering
Man does not live by knowledge alone. He is an
emotional creature. Religion serves to the emotions
of man in times of his sufferings and
disappointment. On God religion puts faith and
entertains the belief that some unseen power
moves in mysterious ways to make even his loss
meaningful. In this way religion gives release from
sorrow and release from fear. It helps man to bear
his frustration and integrate his personality.
3. It inculcates social virtues:
Religion promotes the major social virtues like
truth, honesty, non-violence, service, love,
discipline etc. A follower of the religions
internalizes these virtues and becomes disciplined
citizen of the society.
4. Religion promotes social solidarity:
Religion gives rise to the spirit of brotherhood.
Durkheim viewed that religion strengthens social
solidarity. It is true that common belief, common
sentiment, common worship, participation in

common rituals etc. are the significant cementing

factors which strength the unity and solidarity.
5. Religion is an agent of socialization and
social control:
Religion provides a model for living. It upholds
certain ideals and values. The believer imbibes
these ideals and values in his life. Religion can help
youth generation to become moral, disciplined and
socialized citizens of society. Organization like
temples, mosques, church, Gurudwaras etc. also
control the behavior of the individuals at different
level.
6. Religion promotes welfare:
Religion teaches to the people to serve the masses
and promote their welfare. It gives message that
"the service to humanity is service to God". For this
reason, people spend money to feed poor and
needy. Great religions like Hinduism, Islam, and
Christianity etc. put emphasis on aim-giving to the
poor and beggars. With the influence of religious
belief different religious organizations engage
themselves in various welfare activities. Like
spreading of education and opening up many
charitable institutions like hospitals, rest houses,
temples and to help the poor.

Conclusion:
Religion has always been with us. Throughout
history, it has expressed the deepest questions
human beings can ask, and it has taken a central
place in the lives of virtually all civilizations and
cultures. As we think all the way back to the dawn
of human consciousness, we find religion
everywhere we turn.
Why does religion continue to thrive? Because we
find religion everywhere, on television, in film, in
popular music, in our towns and neighborhoods.
We discover religion at the center of global issues
and cultural conflict. We see religion in the lives of
the people we know and love, and in ourselves, as
we live out and wrestle with our own religious faith.
And there are many reasons, but one thing is
certain: religious traditions are adaptable in
important ways. For many, contemporary religion
even has room for skepticism, science, and the
secular, which allows it to keep going strong in our
rapidly changing world.

Overall, religion is powerful and persistent, and it

shows no signs of disappearing. It provokes
heartfelt commitment, eloquent expression,

forthright action, and intense debate. For both

practitioners and observersfor everyone who
wants to be informed about the world around them
religion is an intensely curious phenomenon that
calls out for better understanding.

References:
http://studyreligion.org/why/index.html
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/religi
on
http://atheisme.free.fr/Religion/What-isreligion-1.htm
http://www.religioustolerance.org/rel_defn1.h
tm