Je, ni jambo la ajabu kwamba, kutokana na ukungu ulioizunguka maana halisi ya maneno hayo manne yaliyotajwa, zaidi ya theluthi tatu ya mafundisho ya Qur'ani, au kwa usahihi zaidi roho halisi yake, imefichika? Na hili ndilo chanzo kikuu cha upungufu unaoonekana katika imani na matendo ya watu, ingawa hawajaacha rasmi dini ya Kiislamu na bado wako ndani ya zizi lake.

This being the case, is it any wonder that, through the mist that has come to surround the precise sense of the four terms in question, more than three-fourths of the teachings of the Qur'ān, or rather, the real spirit thereof, have become obscured, and this is the main cause of the shortcomings that are to be seen in peoples’ beliefs and acts despite the fact that they have not formally given up the faith of Islam but are still in its fold.

Ni muhimu sana, kwa hiyo, kwamba ili kuwa na uelewa kamili na wa kina wa mafundisho ya Qur'ani na wazo lake kuu, mtu ajue, kama msingi wa kuwa Mwislamu mwema, maana halisi ya maneno haya. Ingawa nimetoa maelezo ya maneno haya katika maandishi yangu mengi ya awali, maelezo hayo hayatoshi kuondoa dhana potofu zote zilizo akilini mwa watu, wala hayana uwezekano wa kuridhisha kila mtu, kwa sababu bila maelezo kamili ya kimaana yanayotegemea matumizi yanayotambulika ya lugha ya Kiarabu, na nukuu kutoka katika Qur'ani yenyewe, huenda nikachukuliwa kuwa ninaeleza maoni yangu binafsi tu, maoni ambayo katika hali yoyote hayatawavutia wale wanaotofautiana nami katika masuala mengine. Kwa hiyo, katika mijadala itakayofuata, nitajitahidi kunukuu kwa kina maana ya kamusi ya maneno hayo, na sitasema lolote ambalo siwezi kulithibitisha kwa kutegemea matumizi yanayotambulika au Qur'ani.

It is therefore of utmost importance that in order to have a full and complete understanding of the Qur'ānic teachings and of their central idea, one should know, as a fundamental to being a good Muslim, what these terms really mean. Although I have given explanations of these terms in many earlier writings, they are not enough to remove all the misconceptions in peoples’ minds, nor are they likely to satisfy everybody because, in the absence of full semantic explanations based on recognized Arabic usage, and quotations from the Qur'ān itself, I might be taken as expressing my own opinion only - an opinion which in any case will not appeal to those who differ with me on other issues. I shall therefore endeavour, in the forthcoming discussions, to extensively quote the dictionary sense of the words, and not say anything which I cannot base either on recognized usage, or the Qur'ān.

Nitafuata mpangilio ufuatao: Ilaah, Rabb, Ibaadah, na Deen.

The order I shall follow will be Ilaah, Rabb, Ibadah, and Deen.