Introduction:
A fragmented understanding of religion represents one of the most serious challenges facing contemporary religious thought. The researcher and the religious person become immersed in minutiae and details, losing sight of the overall picture and the coherent framework that connects these fragments.
Dr. Jassim Al-Sultan beautifully illustrated this dilemma with an analogy. He likened someone who is immersed in the details without considering the overall framework to someone who tears a beautiful painting into small pieces, then examines each piece individually, seeing only irregular edges and incomplete meaning, before making a sweeping judgment that the painting is bad.
Many people do the same when they deal with religion in isolation from its integrated system. They lose sight of the coherence and the overall picture. A word has no meaning except within a sentence, a sentence is only understood within a paragraph, and a paragraph is only complete within the entire text.
The Crisis of Fragmented Understanding and its Manifestations in Contemporary Reality:
Dr. Jassim Al-Sultan emphasizes that “the most serious affliction plaguing religious understanding is fragmented perceptions and the absence of a coherent framework that connects the individual parts.” This phenomenon is not confined to one field or another; rather, it extends to jurisprudential, educational, and social approaches, and even to the interpretation of religious texts themselves.
The absence of a holistic vision leads individuals to defend fragments that may not even belong to the whole, wasting their lives in futile debates about disconnected pieces. As the Sultan said, “The first step in reform is to rescue cultures with fragmented systems from themselves and to train their generations to see the place of the part within the whole.”
On a global level, the consequences of this systemic fragmentation manifest in profound social and psychological crises.
According to data from the World Health Organization issued in September 2025, more than one billion people worldwide suffer from mental disorders such as anxiety and depression, and these disorders represent the second leading cause of long-term disability.
Furthermore, the “Mental Health Atlas 2024” report revealed an alarming stagnation in investment in mental health, with government spending on mental health averaging only 2% of total health budgets.
These figures reflect a multi-dimensional humanitarian crisis that cannot be addressed with separate, partial solutions, but rather requires a holistic vision that integrates spiritual, psychological, social, and economic dimensions.
The Objectives of Islamic Law – The Framework Governing Specifics:
From this stems the importance of the science of the objectives of Islamic law, as it serves as the framework that connects specific rulings to their general principles and illuminates the place of each specific ruling within the overall legislative system.
The objectives of Islamic law are the aims and goals intended by the Wise Lawgiver in His legislation, and they constitute the eternal source upon which Islamic jurisprudence depends.
Scholars have divided these objectives into hierarchical levels, encompassing the essential necessities for the well-being of both religion and worldly life. These are five: the preservation of religion, life, intellect, lineage, and property. Next are the needs that people require for expansion and the removal of hardship, followed by the refinements that pertain to moral virtues.
Furthermore, the objectives are divided according to their scope into general, specific, and particular, which aids in understanding the relationships between different areas of legislation.
Dr. Jasser Auda pointed out that “the objectives-based approach to jurisprudence is a comprehensive approach that does not restrict itself to a single hadith or specific ruling, but rather refers to general principles and common denominators.” In this sense, the objectives of Islamic law constitute the methodological mechanism that achieves openness and self-renewal for Islamic jurisprudence, such that rulings change with the changing worldview while the overall objectives remain constant.
In religious texts and jurisprudence:
The Holy Quran emphasizes the principle of unity and comprehensiveness in numerous places, and warns against fragmentation and discord that lead to division.
God Almighty says: “And hold fast, all of you, to the rope of God, and do not be divided among yourselves” (Al Imran: 103).
He also says: “Indeed, this, your nation, is one nation, and I am your Lord, so worship Me” (Al Anbiya: 92).
God Almighty says: “This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion” (Al-Ma’idah 5:3). This verse clearly indicates that the religion is complete, comprehensive, and perfect, lacking nothing that could be provided by a partial human system.
God Almighty also clarifies that the message of Islam is a universal and comprehensive message, saying: “And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds” (Al-Anbiya’ 21:107). Regarding the universality of the religion, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Every prophet was sent to his own people specifically, but I have been sent to all of mankind” (reported by Al-Bukhari). The comprehensiveness of Islam means that it is an integrated system, a comprehensive legal framework for all aspects of life. It encompasses faith and action, creed and law, worship and social interaction, thought and emotion, ethics and civilization.
The Prophetic Sunnah contains clear warnings against the dangers of dealing with religion in isolation from its fundamental principles and objectives.
For example, in the story of Usama ibn Zayd, when he killed a man after he had uttered the Shahada (declaration of faith), the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) strongly rebuked him, saying, “Did you kill him after he said, ‘There is no god but God’?” He repeated this until Usama wished he had only embraced Islam that day.
This hadith teaches us that judgments are not based on mere conjecture, but rather on certainty and established facts. It is a grave error to issue a definitive ruling based on partial premises.
Contemporary scholars warn against the dangers of the spread of an unqualified understanding of religion. Dr. Muhammad Tahir al-Qadri asserts that “the proliferation of unqualified scholars and their controversial opinions spreads chaos in society,” and warns of “the danger posed by individuals with incomplete knowledge of religious matters.”
Within the framework of interfaith dialogue, we find that the Torah and the Gospels urge the values of wisdom, understanding, and integration.
The Book of Proverbs states: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10).
It also states: “Get wisdom, and with all your possessions get understanding” (Proverbs 4:7).
The Book of Ecclesiastes says, “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6).
In the New Testament, there is an explicit call to seek wisdom from its divine source: “If any of you needs wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives it to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5).
These texts, common to all religions, seem to clearly affirm that true religious knowledge is not attained through fragmented understanding, but through wisdom that encompasses a holistic vision and higher purposes.
Statistics and Reports – A Global Mental Health Crisis:
Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that more than one billion people worldwide suffer from mental health disorders, such as anxiety and depression, which cause enormous human and economic losses.
While many countries have strengthened their mental health policies and programs, more investment and much more work is needed globally to expand access to necessary services.
Suicide remains one of the most devastating consequences of this crisis, claiming 727,000 lives in 2021 alone.
The WHO has called for a systemic transformation of mental health systems worldwide, including ensuring equity in the funding of mental health services and reforming laws and policies to uphold human rights.
These figures clearly demonstrate that piecemeal approaches alone are insufficient to address these complex human challenges. Holistic approaches that integrate spiritual, psychological, and social dimensions are essential.
Methodological Recommendations for Addressing the Crisis of Fragmented Understanding: Based on the above, a set of methodological recommendations can be proposed to address the crisis of fragmented understanding of religion:
- Reviving the science of Islamic legal objectives (Maqasid al-Shari’ah) in educational curricula, so that students receive systematic training in viewing specific details within their broader context.
- Developing research methodologies in religious sciences to focus on epistemological integration and the Quranic framework, as advocated by Dr. Jassim Al-Sultan.
- Establishing a systematic dialogue among the Abrahamic religions on shared values of wisdom, understanding, and integration, and utilizing shared religious heritage to counter extremism and intolerance.
- Strengthening cooperation between religious and mental health institutions to provide holistic care that integrates spiritual and psychological treatment.
- Guiding media outlets and social media platforms to disseminate religious content that emphasizes the objectives of Islamic law (Maqasid al-Shari’ah), stressing integration and comprehensiveness, and warning against the dangers of arbitrary fatwas and unqualified interpretations.
Conclusion:
In his article “Religion and Partial Approaches,” Dr. Jassim Al-Sultan highlighted a profound methodological dilemma plaguing contemporary religious thought: the absence of a unifying framework for specific details and a preoccupation with minutiae at the expense of the overall picture. This article presents the science of Islamic legal objectives (maqasid al-shari’ah) as a systematic solution to this dilemma, emphasizing that religion, in its essence, is a comprehensive and integrated system that does not accept fragmentation or selectivity, and that a distorted, partial view leads to extremism, fanaticism, and cruelty.
How much we need today to revive the spirit of Islamic legal objectives and to establish a methodology of understanding that sees the part in the whole, the branch in the root, and the means in the end, so that religion may be a mercy to all mankind, as God intended.
References:
- Dr. Jassim Al-Sultan, “Religion and Partial Solutions,” an article published on his official website.
- “Islamic Legal Objectives and Their Role in Deriving Rulings,” Khoteh Center for Studies, 2024.
- “The Divisions of Islamic Legal Objectives and Their Applications: A Detailed Study,” IslamOnline.
- “The Jurisprudence of the General Objectives of Islamic Law,” Al-Islah website, 2020.
- “The Objectives of Islamic Law and the Renewal of Contemporary Islamic Jurisprudence,” Dr. Jasser Auda, Khoteh Center for Studies, 2020.
- “Inclusivity in Islam,” sermon, Al-Aluka website, 2014.
- Egyptian Dar al-Ifta, “‘God’s Gatekeepers’: How Fake Piety Fuels Moral Cruelty,” 2026.
- “People with Half-Baked Religious Knowledge Spreading Social Anarchy,” Dr. Muhammad Tahir al-Qadri, Minhaj al-Qur’an, 2024.
- World Health Organization, Mental Health Data, September 2025.
