The Basic Moral Dichotomy Summary

The chapter ‘The Basic Moral Dichotomy’ written by Toshihiko Izutsu is about the Qur’an, understanding important verses and what they meant, and about believers and non-believers. In the Qur’an, there are two sections that are separated into right and wrong people. Another thing in the Qur’an, only believe in one God, and it is him/her the creator of everything. The Qur’an has a verse that talks about kafir and mu’min. Kafir referred to people who do not believe in Islam, and Mu’min, the believers of the religion Islam. Kafir people believe in falsehood, and Mu’min people believe in the truth. Both Kafir and Muttaqi are ‘god-fearing’, by means having a fear of God, the Arabic word is called Taqwa. The Qur’an mentions that, there could be people
who act like a Kafir, but in reality they are Mu’min, and there could be people who act like a Mu’min, but in reality they are Kafir. Men are sometimes divided into 3 classes in the Qur’an. There are five pillars in Islam they are, to bring shahada, to pray, to fast, go to hajj, and to give zakat. In Islam patience is a very important factor, in Arabic called sabr. Again, being thankfulness is important in Islam, in Arabic called shukr, praying to God for better things in your life, and praying to God for forgiveness is another important factor in Islam, in Arabic called tawbah.