Islam aims to inculcate the love of God in every individual and make him a God-fearing person. This spirit is called ar-rabbaniyah in the Quran as described in this verse: “Be devoted servants of God.” (3:79) Islam desires to instil this spirit of the love of God and the fear of God in every human being so that he can lead his life in its guidance in whichever situation he may be or wherever he may be. According to Islamic teaching, the present world is a testing ground for individuals, it is not a place of enforcement of commands. In the present world, people are being put to the test to see whether they use their freedom to follow the straight path as determined by God or they deviate from it. Due to this reason, every human being has been granted complete freedom so that he may have the choice to either accept the divine religion or reject it.

This reality about our present life has been stated in the Quran in these words: “Say, this is the truth from your Lord. Let him who will, believe in it, and him who will, deny it.” (18:29). Another verse instructs the Prophet with respect to his contemporaries who were in denial of his prophethood: “You are not a keeper over them.” (Quran, 88:22). The Prophet is here counselled not to compel people to believe in the message he was conveying to them. From this, we understand that the goal of Islam is not to impose a socio-political system through authoritative power, forcing people to adopt the divine religion without allowing any deviation. The goal of Islam is the Islamization of the individual so that he lives a life of love and fear of God—a God-oriented life.

Source: The Spirit of Islam Magazine