The Concept of “Religion” in Islam

Abstract

The present article is devoted to the study of the concept of the “religion” in Islam in a broad cultural-historical context. The research is relevant due to the fact that there is no scientific consensus on the concept of the “religion” in Islam. The author offers a scholarly account of Arabic notions “dīn” and “milla” that are commonly used as an equivalents of “religion” in Islam. The author demonstrates how Islamic theologians and intellectuals contributed to the development of different notions that denote a set of common beliefs and practices, and religious communities. It is shown that peripatetic Islamic philosopher al-Fārābī proposed the definition of the notion “milla” in the meaning of “religion” with no Islamic connotation. Based on the analysis of notions “dīn” and “milla” and the study of their use in pre-Islamic Arabic poetry, in the theological schools and philosophical thought of Islam, the author draws the conclusion that it is notion “milla”, not “dīn”, corresponds to the modern understanding of “religion”. The novelty of the research is caused by the fact that the author considers the concept of the “religion” in Islam in historical, cultural and geographical contexts.