It is understood that Quranic Ayahs deliver their message within a context. Besides, there is a "sea of concepts" that provides the "living" background for the individual Surahs of Quran and the individual Ayahs of the Surahs. This background is alive with overarching themes that provide the dynamism for the Surahs and Ayahs to interact coherently to produce "a symphony of nature" with which life of a person and life of a society resonate. This living background is referred to as the "Hikmah" of Quran, and it is an integral part of Quranic guidance. I have formulated some content of this "Hikmah" in the form of formally enunciated "Theorems". It is the first formulation, ever, for the Hikmah in Quran.
The book is divided into five parts, each called a book. We start with the book of Framework, which describes the problem this book attempts to resolve, an approach to the solution, the tools available to achieve the solution, and an architectural framework in which to implement the solution. It is commonly understood that the foundation of Islam is on its five pillars. The framework defines the architecture that the five pillars need to support. Without such architecture, the pillars just stand there aimlessly. Next comes the book of Worships, which examines the worships that Quran prescribes. These worships are performed in physical, ethical, and spiritual dimensions. The worships in the spiritual dimension include the well-known five pillars of Islam, and they also include worships in the physical and ethical dimensions, as well as worships at the level of the Ummah, which are currently neglected with impunity. Next comes the book of Wisdom, which consists of a set of "theorems" that attempt to enunciate aspects of the "Hikmah" in Quran. This is followed by the book of Research, which discusses and formulates a number of research problems in various categories. The Muslim researchers are invited to address this catalogue of research problems. Finally, we conclude with the book of Vision, which compares the Muslim world-view and the Euro-American world-view and suggests how each can benefit from the other.
The second edition has, to some extent, sharpened its focus on two facets. One is the decadent nature of sectarianism that some Ulama uphold, but Quran denounces. Second is the role of the Ummah among the nations of the world. The action plan derives from the Hikmah of Quran which is essential to understand Quran and properly make it actionable in a programmatic sense, given a specific space-time environment.
I aspire that this book will help the Muslims and the Ummah to embark on the path of the Quranic Hikmah, so that the sun will shine for them and bring forth their Renaissance. Please accept this second edition of Mental Hijrah: Towards a Unified Muslim World-View. We offer it to all readers, especially to the youth who have an upwelling thirst in their hearts and minds to find out the truth about Islam.
