Every society or state has some rules or laws to which it desires submission[1] of its people for the safety, security and preservation of its individual members as well as the society or the state as a whole. No society or state can run peacefully without any laws and rules. If the laws and rules are those or based upon those given by Allah, then submitting, surrendering or yielding to these laws and rules is called Al-Islam[2] (or The Submission).

Since Allah is the Creator and the Sustainer of the entire universe including the human beings, none can know better the nature and the needs of the human hardware and software better than Him. The laws and rules given by the All-Wise and the All-Knowing Allah (who is the creator and sustainer of all the human races and tribes) are free from any subjectivity, bias or limitations of time and space. Hence, the submission or conformity to only Allah’s laws or guidance (if correctly interpreted and implemented) can guarantee a perpetual safety, security, preservation and well-being of all human beings living in a society and the world at large. On the other hand, since the laws made by human beings suffer from the eternal drawbacks of subjectivity or bias and temporal or spatial limitations of human knowledge and wisdom, they can never guarantee an incessant or everlasting safety, security, preservation or wellbeing of all humanity.

 

Now coming to the ultimate goal of Al-Islam or submission to Allah’s laws, one can find from the Quran that one of the goals of this submission or Al-Islam is ‘peace and security’ of human beings. The Quran says that those who submit to Allah[3] and follow his Guidance[4] will have no fear and no grief, i.e. they will have not only an inner peace but also security from any dangers or threats from the outside. The Quran further says whether it is (those who call themselves) the believers or the Jews or the Sabians or the Christians, if they believe in Allah and the day of judgement and do good works, they will have no fear and no grief[5]. Hence, according to the Quran, one of the goals of Al-Islam is to provide such a way of life or set of rules and laws or guidance for the mankind adopting which they can have peace and security.

 

In addition to peace and security, another goal of Al-Islam is human development, welfare and prosperity. The comprehensive Arabic term which encompasses all the aspects of human development, welfare and prosperity is Falah[6]. The Quran says that Allah created man so that he should render his obedience with humility and submissiveness[7] (Ibadat) only to Allah, and further elaborated that this obedience to Allah (i.e.  his laws and guidance) with all humility and submissiveness will ultimately lead to his Falah[8] i.e. his personal development (i.e. fulfilment of his physical, mental and spiritual potential), welfare and prosperity.

 

In short, the ultimate goal of Al-Islam, according to the Quran, is human development, welfare and prosperity in peace and security. And the ultimate goal of an Islamic Republic is to establish a society wherein everybody is able to fulfil his valuable physical, mental and spiritual potentials in peace and security.