Distortion of Truth about Islam and Its Reality: Some Reflections

Abstract: Since the beginning of the 20th century, a respectable number of scholars such as Iqbal, Mawdudi, and Qutb argued that Islam is explained in al-Qur’ān with the term Dīn which stands for the way of life and worldview. It, therefore, should not be termed as religion in the contemporary sense. To explain this particularly important aspect of Islam a sizeable number of books have been written. Despite this clarification and the truth and reality of Islam, most people, speakers, preachers, scholars, and authors present Islam as a religion in a limited and dogmatic way. This approach to Islam not only limits the scope and place of but also distorts the truth and reality of Islam. This paper using the method of content analysis explores and explains the true and realistic picture of Islam as it is presented in al-Qur‘ān. For this purpose, the translation of al-Qur’ān rendered by Zafar Ishaq Ansari is used. The main goal of this paper is on one hand to explore the real scope of Islam and on the other, to present it in its true and realistic perspective. The intellectual discussion of this work concludes that Islam should not be taken merely as a religion. Rather, it is more than that. It is the Right Way, which Allah (SWT) revealed to His final Messenger, Muhammad (PBUH).