If an individual is in dire need of religion, then certainly the need of the society for religion is even greater and stronger. Religion is the protective shield of the community, because human life cannot exist except through the cooperation among its members for its betterment: }Help you one another in Al¬Birr and At-Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression.{(Al-Mâ’idah:2)
This cooperation cannot exist except through a system that regulates their relationships, defines their duties, and ensures their rights.
This system could only come from the most Kind, the All-Aware, the All-Knowing of what humans need: }Should not He Who has created know? And He is the Most Kind and Courteous (to His slaves) All-Aware (of everything).{(Al-Mulk:14)
The more humanity deviates from religion and Allah’s laws and systems, the more it disappears and sinks into the darkness of doubt, misguidance, the feeling of being lost, confusion, misery and unhappiness.
There is no force on the face of this earth that is equivalent or even close to that of religion pertaining to ensuring respect for order, social cohesion and stability of its system, and the existence of all the reasons of comfort and reassurance it possess. The secret of this lies in the fact that man is distinguished from other organisms and that his voluntary moves and actions are controlled by something that cannot be heard or seen. To be more precise, this thing is faith and it refines the soul, purifies the senses and makes man as mindful of his inward thoughts and intentions as he is over his outward and public actions: }And if you (O Muhammad, pbuh) speak (the invocation) aloud, then verily, He knows the secret and that which is yet more hidden{(Tâ-¬Hâ:7)
Man is driven by either a true or false doctrine. If his doctrine is true, then everything related to him will be true, and if his doctrine is false, then everything will be false.
For that reason, religion is the best guarantee that interaction among people will be founded on rules of justice and equity. This is also a social necessity, and it is not surprising that we find that religion is to nations as the heart is to the body.
Thus, since religion is of that status, and the situation in the present time is that there is a diversity of religions and sects in this world, where each people are satisfied with their own religion and adhere to it, one must ask oneself, which is the true religion that achieves the human soul’s aspirations?! What are the criteria of the true religion?!
