Humans have basic needs

Humans have basic needs

Physical or natural needs
1. Need for food
2. Need for shelter
3. Need for rest
4. Need for safety
5. Need for procreation



All of the above are physical needs which man's nature requires of him, and without which he will be unsatisfied and restless. Along with man's physical needs, he has other needs.

"Other" needs

We may call them psychological, emotional, spiritual, or inner needs. Our concern right now is not to assign a name to these often unspoken needs, but only to recognize that man has more than just the need for physical satisfaction.

Jeffrey Lang (from his book, "Struggling to Surrender: Some Impressions of an American Convert to Islam", written in 1994) offers a very personal reflection on this matter:
"…the life-long tension –more unconscious than conscious-between the desire to return to the comfort of the womb and breast and the need to strike out independently on one's own is a primal catalyst for the development of the self. These two unavoidable upheavals in our lives originate through an irrepressible will to love. Similarly, our earthly separation from God and the inner conflict that creates between our spiritual, often unconscious, desire to return to Him and our innate drive for personal autonomy, fires our total spiritual and personality development. It is in this way that the sacred love of mother and child is a sign of the supreme mercy that brought us into the world."

Suzanne Haneef (in her book "What Everyone Should Know About Islam and Muslims," 1985) states her belief on this subject:
"…for human beings, due to their very nature; need, want and in fact do submit to something. The only relevant question then is, To whom or to what? To be a Muslim is to answer this most fundamental of all questions….by submitting one's life to God…alone, following the guidance of Islam, which consists, in essence, of the instructions of the Lord of the universe to His creatures….both past and present, concerning how to submit to Him."

A verse from the Qur'an actually offers an intriguing explanation as to why the true nature of all men, women, and children is to worship God.


Qur'an 7:172 ("The Heights")
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
And (remember) when your Lord brought forth from the children of Adam, from their loins, their seed (or from Adam's loin his offspring) and made them testify as to themselves (saying): "Am I not your Lord?" They said; "Yes! We testify," lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection: "Verily, we have been unaware of this."

Posted in: Islamic Lecture