Human development (Islam)

Notable for its prophetic tradition, Islam is surrender to God's will in obedience to the teachings of Muhammad, the last and greatest of the prophet messengers of God who covers the teachings of all those who precede him, including Abraham and Jesus, and perfectly reveals God's truth. The revelations of Muhammad are set down in the Qur'an, which is the word of God. Behaviour is also modelled on the Hadiths which report the acts and sayings of Muhammad.

Whereas the creation in general was created by God so that its nature is to surrender to him, mankind has been endowed with moral choice and free will so that, having an innate awareness of God and capable of reason and understanding, each individual may choose good - obedience to the will of God - or evil - denial of God's guidance. All creation must, eventually, surrender to God, whether willingly or unwillingly. The surrender of physical and spiritual activity to God enables transcendence from simple physical existence to becoming fully human as a worshipper of the divine; and ultimately to complete transcendence of human existence in eternal life. In particular, the way of inner religious discipline of the mystic, with its aim of self-transcendence and ultimate union with the Absolute as of the lover with his beloved, is the hallmark of [Sufism]

.

In Islam there is no distinction between the sacred and the secular, it is a total way of life with prescribed order and behaviour for all occasions, so that individuals and all social groupings reflect the will of God. Man is formed potentially both good and evil, human life is a testing ground for which good is rewarded and evil is punished at the last judgement; in this life, the individual's sex, happiness, food and lifespan are determined before birth. There are five basic practices, the [Pillars of Islam]

: profession of faith, [shahada]

; worship, [salat]

; giving of alms, [zakat]

; fasting, [saum]

; pilgrimage, [hajj]

. A sixth practice, holy war or [jihad]

is sometimes added to these five.

The Qur'an contains many injunctions to alleviate suffering and injustice. It promotes the organization of a society in which the justice and compassion of God can be extended and implemented. There are explicit directions in the Qur'an on family and social matters and certain things are totally prohibited (drinking alcohol, gambling, eating pork, for example). From the view of religion, men and women are equal, with the same religious and moral duties and the same rights to education, especially religious education. A man should be respectful and protective towards women; he is responsible for his wives and children and therefore inherits a higher percentage of wealth. Within this framework are many groupings and culturally different practices allowing different experience and celebration of religion.