Islam Creator of the Modern Age
2. Holding Sacred that which is not Sacred
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earth to these ‘nature spirits,’ which were the forces,
or personifications of the forces of nature. “
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Scholars of religion agree in general that the concept
of holiness is the cohesive force in all religions. That
is, for a religion to hold together, some unique or
extraordinary person or thing must be designated
as sacred and stand at the apex of the sum of its
beliefs. This cannot be explained in terms of
general, rational principles.
The commonest human reactions to objects of
sanctity are fear and fascination. Only the sacred
can fulfill man’s deepest needs and aspirations.
Thus, the reverence that man shows for whatever is
held sacred is composed both of trust and of terror.
There is also the view that the acceptance of
something as sacrosanct signals the boundaries of
human effort, where man’s inherent limitations
prevent him from seeking any further.
The objects of man’s reverence are disparate in
nature, e.g. stones, animals, the sea, the sun, the
moon, kings and other religious personalities.
Whatever is held sacred is worshipped, and
sacrifices, made to it. Rituals are observed in order
