The Methods of Salvation

To save a Muslim from spreading the infection of `jahiliyah' and to help Muslims uproot its foundations in their society and civilization, and to achieve prevention and fortification against foreign, civil, and mental invasions, it is necessary for them to follow the following steps:
1. Achieving a full understanding for life according to original Islamic methods so that a Muslim knows the value of his life. He should ask himself:
What does existence in life mean?
What is the value of all beings with whom I deal?
How should my psychological relation be with life?
And how do I organize my relations in it?
A Muslim should consider these questions and take them into account in order to build his life on original Islamic teachings. Islam will guide him in all aspects including his possessions, rule, power, fame, life, death, pleasure, pain, and the human relations.
These teachings differ completely from an ignorant understanding and its material viewpoint towards things, the world, and life.
Therefore, the first step to get rid of ignorant concepts is to achieve an aware understanding of existence and life on the basis of Islam and to make a general, psychological change to turn ignorant awareness and understanding, entering our societies, into a believing mental system and believing civil awareness which revolves around the axis of servitude to Allah, sincere loyalty to Him, and going directly toward Him.
When a Muslim understands the meaning of life and its value, and recognizes the same right in it for others on the basis of these values and principles, he will see that all aspects of misery and aggression on the earth, such as poverty, aggression, terrorism, corruption, exploitation, enslavement, vanity, haughtiness, making light of man's values and rights, will disappear. Man will live a life of purity and dignity.
2. After this understanding is achieved, the reconstruction of both the Muslim's personality and the society will fit together. It will cause the purification of the conscience and awareness of a Muslim against ignorant backgrounds and motives hidden in his depths, so that he may achieve the reconstruction and reorganization of the human personality from its inner side on the basis of sound, Islamic understanding.
Thus, a Muslim will become honest, self-purified, a lover of good, ready to practice the Islamic life, and ready to accept its teaching.
3. The third method of uprooting ignorant backgrounds is to establish an Islamic society which unifies its individuals within the framework of an organized human unity full of believing spirit and truthful, believing direction and in which a Muslim will practice Islam as a living fact and as a social system, thought, behavior, life, and pure servitude to Allah only under the shade of a lawful authority which believes in Islam and stands on its principles in order to build the society with its foundations, activities, and the aspects of life based on original Islamic rules.
With this method, we are able to get rid of ignorant backgrounds and keep the course of the Muslim individual and society within the boundaries of Islam.
However, if we are satisfied with mere theoretic belief, while all, or most, of our behavior, life system, dealings, and laws of our society are far and deviated from Islam, we will not achieve full belief nor raise ourselves to the level of true Islam as Allah desires for us.
Rather our belief will bend toward `jahiliyah' and servitude at random, though many of us do not feel this contrast, duplicity, and collapse.

The Nature of Conflict between Jahiliyah and Islam
The real meaning of `jahiliyah' is: “Refusing the obedience of Allah and deviation from the system of religion.”
While Islam means: “The surrendering and obedience to Allah's cosmic order, and conforming to His system of religion in life.”
We have to know that the conflict between various ignorant ideologies and Islam-the religion of prophets and mankind-is permanent and continuous. We have to be aware that they are two opposite facts, and have been so since the beginning of human history and will continue to be so until the disappearance of the torch of life from the earth.
This conflict will continue and take various forms and slogans, but it will last as a conflict between guidance and misguidance, truth and falsehood, justice and injustice, and between righteousness and corruption.
This conflict is the conflict of oppositions in the theater of thought and society. It is the `jihad' (holy struggle) of goodness against the call of evil and deviation.
Throughout human history, prophets and the faithful have recorded wonderful chapters in it. With strength and enthusiasm they faced the might of tyrants, rulers and the callers to deviation and misguidance who are the true enemies of all mankind.
These wonderful attitudes of `jihad' are living phenomena of the law regarding human conflict and change which is described by the Qur'an as follows: “And were it not for Allah's repelling some men with others, the earth would certainly be in a state of disorder; but Allah is Gracious to the creatures.”Holy Qur'an (2:251)
“... and had repelled not Allah some people by others, verily had been pulled down the cloisters and the churches and the synagogues, and the mosques in which Allah's name is much mentioned; and verily Allah will help him who helps Him (His cause); for verily Allah is All-Strong, Almighty.” Holy Qur'an (21:40)
This is the law of life, the logic of history, and the law of events and change. On the basis of these facts, the bloody fights of conflict happened, and the events of history were written.
So, each party of this conflict has taken its portion and shouldered its responsibility. In this connection, Allah, the Exalted, says: “(All) people are a single nation; so Allah raised prophets as bearers of good news and as warners, and He revealed with them the Book with truth, that it might judge between people in that in which they differed; and none but the very people who were given it differed about it after clear arguments had come to them, revolting among themselves; so Allah has guided by His will those who believe to the truth about which they differed and Allah guides whom He pleases to the right path.”Holy Qur'an (2:213)
Whoever follows the Qur'an's descriptions of the nature of conflict and how it pictures the scenes of rebellion against the prophets, and tells about the battles which were waged against the prophets and who reads how Qur'an honors the followers who believed in truth and the message of Allah, who defended truth in `jihad' against the callers to `jahiliyah', oppression and despotism, will be able to identify and recognize the conflict and that its confrontation and `jihad', followed by the believers in Allah's religion and the truth of His prophets is the only way to pursue the enemy's annihilation.
It is the way which must be followed by the callers to Islam. This conflict is the continuity of the line of the believing, brave confrontation against the callers to apostasy and `jahiliyah'.
Whoever chooses the way of prophets and calls to Islam should accept what the prophets accepted and should endure what they endured.
How wonderful the true words of Allah are! They simplify this plain truth and explain to us the experience of the conflict and the difficult test which lies before us: “Or do you think that you would enter the garden while yet the state of those who have passed away before you has not come upon you; distress and affliction befell them and they were shaken violently, so that the Messenger and those who believed with him said: When will the help of Allah come? Now surely the help of Allah is nigh!” Holy Qur'an (2:214)
“Alif Lam Mim. Do men think that they will be left alone on saying, We believe, and not be tried? And certainly We tried those before them, so Allah will certainly know those who are true and He will certainly know the liars.” Holy Qur'an (29:1-3)
Conflict and the Divine trial are necessities in order to discover the extent of truthfulness and sincerity in the heart of the faithful believer and his belief in the Divine message in his life.
Furthermore, this conflict is a historical phenomenon which takes place according to the laws of action and reaction and social change.
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.