18ثُمَّ جَعَلناكَ عَلىٰ شَريعَةٍ مِنَ الأَمرِ فَاتَّبِعها وَلا تَتَّبِع أَهواءَ الَّذينَ لا يَعلَمونَMuhammad AsadAnd, finally,1 [O Muhammad,] We have set thee on a way by which the purpose [of faith] may be fulfilled:2 so follow thou this [way], and follow not the likes and dislikes of those who do not know [the truth].3Lit., "thereafter" or "in the end" (thumma) - i.e., after the failure of the earlier communities to realize the ideal purpose of faith in their actual mode of life.Lit., "on a way of the purpose [of faith]": see note 15 above. It is to be borne in mind that the literal meaning of the term shari'ah is "the way to a watering-place", and since water is indispensable for all organic life, this term has in time come to denote a "system of laws", both moral and practical, which shows man the way towards spiritual fulfilment and social welfare: hence, "religious law" in the widest sense of the term. (See in this connection note 66 on the second part of 5:48.)I.e., who are not - or not primarily - motivated by God-consciousness and, hence, are swayed only by what they themselves regard as "right" in accordance with worldly, changing circumstances.