Islam As It Is
Organisation
~ 163 ~
hereafter denies me shall stray from the right
path’ (5: 12).
This contract—or covenant—stipulates several
religious duties, the first of which is prayer, a way
of bowing to God and seeking to be close to Him.
Next is
zakat
which obliges one to be good in giving
to others, to behave, in fact, as if they had a basic
right to a share in one’s earnings. Then there is the
duty to spread the word of God. When one hears
the call of truth one is obliged to commit oneself un-
stintingly to its support and furtherance, and to
give one’s whole-hearted assistance to those who
call mankind to the truth. All of these religious
duties taken together are what make up the contract
according to which a Muslim must pattern his life.
Those who live their lives in such a manner find
themselves close to God, and become worthy of His
divine assistance.
In order to preserve this God-fearing aspect of life
in its true form, Muslims have been called upon to
organize themselves, i.e., to set up a system in their
society based upon what the Quran calls “hearing
and obeying”. For this system to function
