Islam is a perfect and comprehensive spiritual and social package of life.
It is a well integrated whole of beliefs, moral values and actions. Purity
of intention occupies the fundamental place for all actions. Islam asks its
followers to evaluate their intentions while performing any action, major
or minor, material or spiritual.
The man has been blessed
with the "Mind", "Free Will" and "Knowledge" , in order
to prove the worth of the superior most rank amongst the creatures of
Allah(God). Similarly the soul is also an extra ordinary manifestation of Allah(God),
in the material body of the man which is further a
distinction of the man amongst rest of the creatures.
"Eat of the good things that We have given you; and they did not do Us any harm, but they made their own souls suffer the loss." (Quran: 2/57)
This combination of "matter" and "soul" goes side by side.
Both are integrated with each other, and need suitable intake according
to their own manufacturing designs.
Islam strongly believes that body is
the appropriate asylum for soul. That is why the strengthening of the
body in a tidy and hygienic environment
is equally important as much as it is desirable for the grooming of the
human soul, its healthy growth and prosperous flourishing. The body fulfils its nutritional
needs from material food for flourishing and nourishment. The soul gets
its spiritual diet to further strengthen and to promote its divinely inbuilt
characteristics.As food is necessary
for the survival of any material body, the spiritual diet is also essential to
keep the soul alive. This is the soul which is the manifestation of "Divine
Light of Allah(God)" in human body.
The following poem of La Makani Husain Efendi express this meaning very aptly:
"Clean the fountain of your soul until it becomes perfectly pure.
Fix your eyes on your heart until your heart becomes an eye.
Give up doubts and put the pitcher of your heart to that fountain.
Then fill that pitcher with the water which gives delight."
"Spiritual diet" for the "soul" aims purification, strengthening, promoting and canalizing
its inherent capabilities of doing good.
One may conclude that Islam's fundamental
theme is to demand from the mankind to purify their intentions and
thinking processes in order to manifest good deeds in line with the desire
of their Lord
