Islam and God-Centricity: Examining the Articles of Faith

Islam and God-Centricity: Examining the Articles of Faith is the third volume in a multi-volume series. In this volume, prevalent understandings of the articles of faith are analysed in light of the Quranic dictum that human being have been created as stewards of God upon this earth, and that their collective purpose is to display the stewardship of God by actualising their intellectual, moral and spiritual potentialities. Thus, the articles of faith are instrumental, that is, they are a means to an end. Their function is to aid humanity in realising its potential. It is imperative, therefore, to appreciate the articles in light of their purpose as this ensures our understanding of them is accurate. By utilising this approach, the author demonstrates that the articles of faith are much more than merely dry dogmatic beliefs that a person must attest to in order to belong to the Muslim faith; rather, they are values one ought to genuinely commit to and live by. As lived values, they have the potential to act as a catalyst for inner transformation and God-consciousness. This book shifts the paradigm of the discourse from an understanding of the articles of faith through the lens of formal Muslim interpretations of Islam to an appreciation of them on the basis of the "existential principle of growth."