Faith & Progress -
An invitation to think
There are answers available to these most fundamental of
questions of who we are, why we are here and how do we relate to
life not only now but life before us and life in the future. The
challenge facing us is to exercise our minds to their full
capability in finding the correct solution, a solution that can be
tested against reality, and ration, and will be comprehensive for
all circumstances.
Only in the adoption of a comprehensive thought and ideology will
mankind both individually and collectively have peace of mind and a
solid foundation upon which he is freed up to truly progress.
Society needs a way of life to which all problems can be referred
and solutions readily given. It is not acceptable to let life pass,
without contemplating and deciding the basis upon which life itself
is built and organised.
2. The Thinking Man
As our thoughts greatly dominate or decide our actions we should be
aware of how the process of thought works. Through our five senses
of Sight, Touch, Hearing, Smell and Taste man is able to receive
information. The mind once it has received the reality or
information can then distinguish it, provided it has previous
information about it to link with what it has received. So four
elements are required for thought;
1. The reality (word, information, etc),
2. The sensing or feeling transmitted to the mind,
3. A distinguishing mind,
4. Previous information about the reality to link with the other
three.
So a person may come across a plant which he recognises as a plant
from his previous information about what plants look like. Through
sight, touch and smell he will perceive the reality of the plant,
but without previous information about the type of plant he cannot
decide if it is poisonous or edible. We should always keep these
elements in mind when thinking, as without correct previous
information we cannot make correct informed decisions. Just
receiving information is not enough, people receiving information
become educated not thinkers, the process of linking to previous
information and distinguishing it is the process of thought. The
search for comprehensive and truthful previous information to relate
to today’s reality is critical to man’s success.
3. The Importance of Enlightened Thought
Just as the need for thought is important, the way one undertakes
thought has an affect upon the quality of our problem solving and
behaviour. Mankind has certain instincts and organic needs, and is
constantly striving to satisfy these needs. Man will die if the
organic need for food and water is not satisfied, and non
satisfaction of the instincts of survival or procreation leads to
misery. Animals too have instincts and organic needs, but what
differentiates man from the animal is the ability to think, man
progresses and satisfies his needs after thought. Society implements
rules, so we see that the survival instinct should not be satisfied
by stealing from others, or that the sexual desire cannot be
satisfied in any way we wish.
The way man approaches thought differs, thought can be relatively
superficial, deep, or enlightened. The superficial thinker tends to
judge based upon a brief look and makes decisions without
understanding. Deep thought, on the other hand, examines the reality
in great detail; once it is understood it is then judged. Through
enlightened thought man not only understands the reality, but also
all that relates to it, and only then does he judge it. So the
person that buys the first colourful table that appeals to his sense
of fashion is thinking superficially, whereas the man that studies
the type of wood, veneer and construction of the table thinks
deeply. It is only the man that takes into account these factors and
his use of the table, the size of room it will fit, and his budget
that uses enlightened thought.
Man will satisfy his needs and instincts through use of any of the
three types of thought, but it is use of enlightened thought that
takes into account the reality, previous information and all that
relate to them that holds the future success for us. The view that
any man holds all answers and can decide all for himself is shallow
in that it does not recognise man’s limitations, or does not take
into account all in man’s environment or links with the past and
future. Similarly to look deeply and categorise man merely as flesh
and bone and observe how the environment or nature has changed does
not address the beginning of man, and his relationship to the rest
of life. Only enlightened thought can provide a comprehensive answer
and we should spare nothing in looking for the answers we need.
4. The Bridge from Thought to Action
When we become convinced of the correctness of a thought, that
thought or idea becomes a concept which we carry, and as such it
affects our behaviour. If we carry a concept of dislike about a
person, that will affect our behaviour towards that person. If we
feel responsible towards our husband/wife or family that will
motivate us to support them. Concepts are important in that they can
be changed to change degenerative behaviour.
Man should constantly challenge the concepts that he carries. Any
error in accepting the truth of an idea which is wrong has a serious
implication not only for the individual, but also for society,
especially if the false ideas are carried widely.
Man cannot progress at all unless he carries a comprehensive concept
which explains fully our situation. Such a concept must explain the
relationship between man, life and the universe, and all that was
before this and all that is after it. Without previous knowledge
covering this most important question and enlightened thought we are
in no position to deal with the questions and challenges we
constantly face in life. The man that does not know who he is, where
he is from and where he is going is in a sorry state.
5. Mankind’s Greatest Question
Where did I come from, and where am I going? is the question on
every child's lips at some stage. What is the relationship between
man, life and the universe? What is the link between life and what
was before life, and what is after life? These are all the most
natural of questions which man wants an answer to, and indeed needs
an answer to, to form a basis for all actions. Without an answer, we
are simply running with a limited view of life, i.e. what is here
and now with no regard to the past and future. Such a view of life
is comparable to applying for a job without asking the interviewer
what the history of the company is, who they will be working for,
why the previous person left, what the job is, how the job is likely
to develop, what the prospects for promotion are and so on. To
simply ask for the job without any reference to the past and the
future and how they are related is superficial and naive.
Should a person be drugged and wake up in a darkened room, he will
naturally ask; who put me here ? why am I here ? and what will
happen next ? (or what is outside the room ?). Questions of what
happens after death evoke in many an uneasy feeling, a feeling that
many shy away from if they do not have a convincing answer. If we
look upon existence before our birth as unknown, one might say is
doesn’t concern us, but we all return to a situation of seeming
uncertainty after death. The truth of the matter is that we want and
need answers, and we want answers with absolute clarity and
certainty.
6. Solving the Great Question
A comprehensive answer to the question of man, life and the universe
and their interrelationships through enlightened thought will
provide the solution to all problems. This greater problem will act
as a base or point of reference to any matter or problem relating to
man and life . This is so because all problems are either partial
problems related to the main problem or an outcome of the main
problem. Armed with an answer to this most basic question mankind
individually and collectively is in a position to progress, freed up
from the constant worry of finding a correct reference point for any
problem.
We are looking for the basis or creed of the ideology (way of life)
for our lives. The basis or comprehensive answer must agree with
reality and be categorically proven as correct, otherwise any answer
stemming from the basis could be false.
Before solving the question we should set some ground rules.
1. Firstly; any answer should be comprehensive. We must have the
answer to the whole question of man, life and the universe. Without
this any related questions or problems stemming from life, may be
left unanswered.
2. Any answer must agree with the reality and be a verifiable fact,
to meet this criteria the answer must agree with man’s nature and
satisfy our mind or intellect.
3. To answer a question rationally requires that we limit ourselves
to what we can perceive and sense. We cannot rationally assess
something which is hypothetical or beyond our capacity to perceive
it.
With these criteria in mind, we can proceed to challenge ourselves
in this most important of questions. A challenge which can solve
this issue with 100% certainty, or else we remain in the dark, and
with the constant inefficiency and worry that doubt brings.
7. A Starting Point
To solve the question of man, life and the universe let us start by
observing what we know in certainty about these three. All of the
previous information we have of these three, tells us that they have
certain similarities and unchanging rules. Man, life and the
universe are limited, indeed all that we can perceive is limited.
What we mean by limited is that it all has a starting point and an
end point, and is not unlimited and infinite.
We can see that man is born and dies, and man cannot grow beyond a
certain size in height and weight. All of life is similarly limited,
and the earth, moon and stars likewise have a starting and end
point. The life of a star or galaxy may be a very long period of
time, but they are definitely limited in that they all have a
starting and ending. The universe is a very large place but it is a
finite space, and is not unlimited. No scientist has been able to
bring a definite evidence that suggests the universe has no limits.
So to suggest that it is infinite means we are going beyond the
bounds of what we can rationally assess. Such a thought requires us
to challenge ourselves to find any example in our world of
perception that is unlimited, no matter how hard we search we cannot
find such an example. All we can perceive is limited, finite.
A second attribute of man, life and the universe is that all of
these are needy and dependant. Needy in that to exist, they must
have assistance from something else, they are not self sustaining.
Man needs food and water to survive. Plants and animals similarly
are dependant on a water cycle which in turn is dependant upon the
sun, which is dependant upon the relationship with the galaxies, and
burning mass. Nothing that we can perceive can survive independent
of other things, there is nothing in our perception that is
self-subsistent. So things exist but do not have the power of
existence.
The fact that is inextricably interwoven with these facts of being
limited, finite, dependant, and needy is that ultimately there has
to be a Creator or initiator for it all. The sum of all finite and
dependant things is something that is finite and dependant,
dependant on what ? Dependant upon something to start, and sustain
life, and something to plan and develop the complex
interrelationship between all living things. We see things that
exist without any difficulty or question, but nothing exists of its
own nature as independent and in complete control of its own
creation, or able to sustain itself. There can only be one solution
to the question of Creation, that an unlimited Creator has accounted
for all we see and perceive. Anything that is finite must have a
dynamic force to create it, otherwise it cannot come into existence.
All limited things depend upon something for their sustenance. There
can be no doubt over these points, challenge yourself to bring any
example, all limited and dependant things are created.
A second way of looking at this argument shows that if we
contemplate about all we perceive as being limited and dependant we
can only explain it in two ways; either 1. All we perceive depends
for its existence on something else, which in turn depends on still
another thing, ad infinitum, or 2. All we perceive derives its
existence from something else that exists by its own nature and that
is accordingly eternal, unlimited. The first alternative is false
because it does not provide an explanation of how anything came into
existence to begin with, it simply puts off giving a reason. It does
not provide a reason why finite and limited things exist, or from
whence they came, it is therefore illogical, incomplete and without
an answer for us. Therefore we deduce that all limited and dependant
things depend upon something that exists by its own nature. The
arguments start when a description or perception of the Creator is
desired.
8. Attributes of the Creator
When we contemplate upon the Creator, we deduce that it can only be
either of three things; Created by something else, Creator and
created at one and the same time, or eternal self-subsisting. To be
created means that it is limited and therefore part of the creation
and therefore not the ultimate Creator. It is absurd that something
can be creating itself and exist at the same time. Therefore the
Creator can only be eternal and not dependant on anything in any
time or space. This attribute of eternity, or of infinity cannot be
fully perceived by us, man is limited and cannot perceive
everything. If we hear a knock at the door, we have a strong feeling
that there is someone behind the door, but we do not know who, we
can only speculate. To speculate upon the essence or description of
the Creator is not necessary, and can only be unproductive. We are
concerned to prove the existence of a Creator, rather than speculate
upon that Creators detailed description which is in any event beyond
us.
The desire for greater understanding of something so important in
our lives is only natural. To gain greater understanding of
something we cannot perceive, and we cannot perceive something that
is infinite and totally independent, requires that we seek only
verifiable data from that Creator. To speculate about the Creator
can only lead to misery and error as the unknown can not be deduced
by our limited minds.
Further, we have not yet addressed the comprehensive question, of
what is man, life, and the universe, what was before the life and
what was after it, and what is the relationship between them all.
The answer to this comprehensive question will act as the basis, or
creed for all sub problems relating to life, and act as the
reference for all the complex systems of life that man implements;
social systems, economic, political, foreign policy, judicial, etc.
In short this will explain mans very purpose in life, and give us
direction for true progress. So far we have examined the existence
of a Creator, what is the relationship with the Creator ? and
interrelationships with man, life, and what is after creation ?
9. The Islamic Answer to Man’s Greatest Question
Islam has answered this question, by stating that man, life and the
universe are all created by a one and only Creator (God in English,
Allah in Arabic) and that before the life of the world was God, God
is beyond this life and the universe, and is eternal, and
self-subsistent. After this life there will be an ending and day of
reckoning or judgement, in which man will return to his Creator, to
be followed by an everlasting existence in paradise or hell. Islam
has made the intellectual acceptance of this view a prerequisite for
entering it. We therefore should examine closely, intellectually,
these points in order to assess them, and decide upon their
correctness or otherwise.
Before we continue we complete the Islamic basis or creed (aqeeda in
Arabic) upon which all problems and further questions in life will
be referred. The creed of Islam is that there is only one God that
created man, angels and jinn, Muhammad (may Gods peace be upon him)
is the last in the chain of Prophets sent from God to guide mankind,
the Qur’an is the word of God sent as guidance for all of mankind,
that after this life man will be resurrected to face judgement
concerning his actions, that after judgement follows paradise or
hellfire. The Muslim (who submits to the will of God) should be
intellectually convinced of these points as irrefutable facts, if
this is the case the Muslim will guide all actions and refer all
problems great and small to this basis or creed. Islam as an
ideology or complete way of life (deen in Arabic) has this basis as
given by God, and all of lifes systems emanate and are directed from
this basis.
We recall the ground rules that we need to apply to our assessment
of this or any other creed or comprehensive solution. The solution
should be:
1. Comprehensive and answer the whole question leaving nothing
unanswered.
2. Agreeable with reality as a fact, agreeing with man’s nature and
satisfy the mind intellectually.
3. Assessed based upon our limits of perception, and not what we
cannot perceive or sense.
An issue as important as the basis of our lives and how we lead them
should not be accepted without the most strenuous of examinations
based upon these criteria which can satisfy our minds and lead our
hearts to contentment.
10. Is Islam as an Ideology Complete and True?
10.1 The Existence of God
Questions of the nature of God, and the existence of Hell, Paradise,
or Angels, cause us some difficulty, because we cannot perceive
them, one of the criteria listed above. Is it possible to prove
their existence despite our non-perception of them ? Let us start
with the existence of God. As outlined earlier the existence of God
can be proven by contemplating upon all known things, and deducing
that they are all limited and dependant. The sum of all limited and
dependant things is limited or finite and all finite things have a
beginning and end. All finite things must have been created, as an
external force is required to move something into a state of
existence. All dependant things are not self-sustaining, they
therefore require a force to sustain them, they do not exist of
their own accord. The force we have identified, through rational
proof, we have called God or Allah. This proof has come through
examining all within our perception therefore meets our limit of
perception criteria. The fact that God is infinite and
self-subsistent, and we cannot perceive Gods nature or description
is not of concern in proving Gods existence. And to spend time
trying to perceive what we cannot is counter productive and will not
lead to ‘peace of mind’.
We have intellectually brought a convincing argument for the
existence of God. We must also examine if this agrees with mans
nature. Man has certain instincts and organic needs, the
satisfaction of which he constantly strives for. The organic needs
are for food and drink, without which man will die. Instincts can be
categorised as three: Survival or self preservation, Procreation or
sexual, and Religiousness. We can see clearly certain manifestations
or traits in man reflecting his desire to satisfy these instincts.
Thus man acquires goods and nice objects, likes to own property,
wants a job and income, can be greedy, and may save for the future,
in attempting to satisfy his instinct for survival. Similarly
compassion, affection, love, marriage, and sexual tendencies are
expressions of the procreational instinct in man. The desire to
worship, sanctify, revere or approach something of greater power or
influence are part of man’s instinct of religiousness.
In a highly material and secular world many would deny the instinct
of religiousness in man. The facts disagree with this opinion. Even
in the most avowed of atheist societies, such as Communist Russia,
where the creed of Communism denies the existence of a Creator we
find busts and statues of men prominently displayed in order to
satisfy man’s desire to look up to something greater than him. Man
has gone in some societies from the worship of the Creator to the
worship of men like Lenin or Marx. In the West the situation is no
different with man often worshipping or revering politicians,
influential businessmen, celebrities, Royalty, or even sports
personalities. Such a situation of human worship is not ultimately
satisfying as all men are equally limited and dependant and man
cannot affect mans ultimate destiny. We see politicians and
philosophers making mistakes, businessmen at times failing, and no
sportsman could alter his destiny.
If man is to satisfy his instinct for religion he should only revere
that which has control over him, and to which he will ultimately
return. To worship or sanctify the relationship with God means man
has a particular focus in life, that of acknowledging his
shortcomings, and seeking guidance for all matters in life from the
only source with absolute knowledge and understanding. To worship
only the Creator, the one with absolute knowledge and control can be
the only truly satisfying form of worship, in full agreement with
man’s instinct for religion. Worship, or looking up to other men or
material things like money is intellectually weak and doesn’t
satisfy our instincts.
Whilst man may believe in the existence of God through use of his
instinctive emotions, this can be unreliable and dangerous as
emotions change and can add errors to one’s beliefs and actions. In
history we see many examples of men going far astray in believing
fantasies or superstitions, or attributing human qualities to God,
talking of a son of God, God reincarnate etc. all of which is false
and can lead easily to disbelief. For this reason it is obligatory
for the Muslim to believe in the existence of God not solely through
instinctive emotion, but with use of the mind. The believer must be
intellectually convinced of the existence of God or else emotions of
belief could be adversely changed. Concepts which people are
convinced of will not change unless a stronger intellectual argument
is brought, so use of the mind is required for a lasting
understanding and belief.
"Behold! in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the
alteration of night and day, these are indeed signs for men of
understanding" (Qur’an 3:190)
The Qur’an includes hundreds of verses directing man to look and
contemplate deeply upon the universe and creation, to look at its
interrelationships, and attributes which guide one to belief in the
Creator, through use of the mind and ration.
"Lo in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the
difference of night and day, and the ships which run upon the sea
with that which is of use to men, and the water which Allah sends
down from the sky, thereby reviving the earth after its death, and
dispersing all kinds of beasts therein, and (in) the ordinance of
the winds, and the clouds obedient between heaven and earth: are
signs (of Allah’s sovereignty) for people who have sense." (Qur’an
2:164)
The existence of God we have covered using intellectual and
instinctive arguments and by utilising all evidences within our
perception. From this position we need to question the rest of the
creed (aqeeda) and challenge the correctness of its articles. We
start by examining the question of divine guidance. What has God
given us, what is the mechanism for man to solve his problems ?
10.2 The Need for Messengers and Prophets
Mankind is driven to satisfy his organic needs and his instincts,
and without any form of criterion for right and wrong surely he will
go astray. The annals of history are full of man’s oppression of
man. Greed, selfishness, killing, monopoly, and vice are
manifestations of man fulfilling his survival instinct. If man is
prepared to go as far as killing others in satisfaction of his needs
, then surely man is in need of control over his actions. Without a
criterion for action the striving for satisfaction of mans needs
will lead him to constant conflict with others. One man’s freedom is
anothers slavery. God has not left man to his own devices, man has
never been free to undertake his life in which ever way he feels
best. It is wholly consistent with our perception of man as being
limited, dependant and imperfect, that for man to bring his own way,
his own system, would be false, due to man’s limited understanding
of life. Man is always subject to bias, disparity, differences,
contradictions and the influence of his current environment, hardly
a basis for complete impartiality and absolute truth. Any man made
system will suffer from these same bias,disparity, differences,
contradictions and influence. The example of modern day politicians
and their links with the business community serves as a reminder of
how the supposedly impartial nature of the political function can be
abused.
The religiousness instinct within man serves as a reminder to us of
how mankind can be diverted from his true goal in life. History
shows us many instances of man worshipping the Sun, Stars, Fire,
Stone idols, and more recently books, writers, leaders and material
things. Faced with this strong instinct of dependence/sanctification
man strives to satisfy this need, but without a system or clear
guidance in this matter purely intuitive or instinctive acts of
worship have led man astray. Man must use his mind to establish the
source of the correct form of sanctification/worship. It is not
possible for a limited being to comprehend an unlimited being,
therefore the Creator has given mankind communication through a
channel that is clear for him. God has sent Prophets and Messengers
(Prophets with the divine law) to mankind to give guidance in all of
our affairs. The Prophets were each given miracles which proved to
mankind the authenticity of their Prophethood. So we see that Musa
(Moses) was given the power of magic, when his staff was thrown down
and turned to a snake devouring the staffs of the magicians. Or
similarly Isa (Jesus) was given the ability to cure the sick. The
miracle given to Muhammad (SAW) was the Qur’an, the word of God. As
only the Messengers of God are given the Divine Law of God (Ahkam
Shar'iyah) then Muhammad must definitely be the Prophet and
Messenger of God. To prove this point comprehensively we must
examine critically the Qur’an.
10.3 The Qur’an the Word of God
If the Qur’an is the word of God, and a miracle proving the
Prophethood of Muhammad (SAW) we must look carefully at this book
and establish without doubt its authenticity. It is well known that
the pagan Arabs of the time of Muhammad (SAW) were great poets and
writers of the arabic language. It was common at the time for them
to go into the dessert to study arabic and write poetry and prose
with which to entertain each other. They held the arabic language
with all its fluidity and depth of expression in great esteem. When
the revelation started to come to Muhammad in his fortieth year it
was the style of language which set the revelation apart from
anything that had been before or indeed since.
The unshakable proof of the authenticity of the Qur’an as the word
of God is in its style of language. From the first verse:
"Read: In the name of thy Lord who createth, Createth man from a
clot. Read: and thy Lord is the Most Bounteous, Who teaches by the
pen, Teaches man that which he knew not" (96:1-5) Through to
the very last verse revealed: "This day I have perfected your
deen (way in life) for you and completed My favour unto you, and
have chosen for you as deen Al-Islam." (5:3) the Qur’an
remains completely at the height of eloquence, rhetoric, and
coherent expression. It acts as one complete piece, with the style
the same as if it is one sentence, with perfect arrangements and
strong plain text. The expressions brought were not known to the
Arabs at the time or before that time, and matters cannot be
expressed that have not been previously felt. One of the
disbelieving Arab poets of the time Walid ibn Al Mughira said after
hearing the Qur’an:
"By God: None of you is more conversant than I with poetry,
melodious hymns, and songs, and by God never did I hear anything
similar to which he says. It is so sweet, and so graceful that it
remains at the summit with nothing to surpass it."
The Qur’an is in a literary style that no human can approach or
match. Its style the Arabs can not match, and it is this challenge
which God has set forth within the Qur’an.
"Say: verily though mankind and the Jinn should assemble to
produce the like of this Qur’an, they could not produce the like
there of though they were helpers one of another"
"And if ye are in doubt concerning that which we reveal unto our
apostle (Muhammad), then produce a Surah of the like thereof, and
call your witnesses beside Allah if you are truthful"
"Or they say: He has invented it ? Say: then bring a Surah like unto
it and call (for help) on all ye can besides Allah if you are
truthful"
It is this challenge to all that doubt, that has remained unanswered
in over 1400 years since this revelation. Not one scholar of the
arabic language either Muslim or Non-Muslim has been able to write
even one small chapter or paragraph in the same style of arabic to
that of the Qur’an. The Arabs are either able to imitate the style
of the Qur’an or not, if they could then the book is clearly the
work of men like them. If not then there are only two other possible
sources Muhammad, or God.
Muhammad (SAW) was of arabic blood and tongue but never claimed to
be the author of the Qur’an. In fact he was never challenged as its
author, it can be seen clearly from Hadith Mutawatir (definitely
confirmed sayings of Muhammad - narrated word for word) of which
there are many hundreds that the style of language in Muhammad’s
speech and the Qur’an are very different. And no matter how hard one
tries, one’s style of speech cannot be completely altered
consistently, and certainly not over a period of 23 years in which
the Qur’an was revealed. The only accusation ever levelled at
Muhammad (SAW) was that he received it from a Christian youth called
Jaber. As a response to this allegation God revealed:
"We know indeed that they say, ‘It is a man that teaches him.’
The tongue of him they wickedly point to is notably foreign, while
this is Arabic, pure and clear."
Since it is the style of the arabic language that is the miracle of
the Qur’an, how can the non-arab speaker confirm this fact ? Just as
the foreign student studies Shakespeare from the English language
scholar, so too should the English speaker refer to the scholars of
arabic for the true confirmation of the height of eloquence and
style of the Qur’an. The language serves as a constant reminder over
the ages, and also the consistent style has ensured that nothing
could be added to the Qur’an. Indeed God has promised that the book
would be protected, and there are copies of the most ancient
manuscript which are letter for letter the same as all copies today.
"Lo! We, even We, reveal the reminder, and lo! We verily are
its Guardian"
"If it had been from other than Allah thy would have found much
incongruity"
As the Qur’an is the word of God, sent to mankind as a guide for all
affairs, and as it is protected and completely consistent
throughout, then anything the book refers to can be taken as a
complete truth. The existence of paradise and hellfire cannot be
derived from rational evidence as we cannot as yet perceive them, to
believe in them comes in a traditional way, however belief in them
is based upon a rationally derived belief which proves the divine
source of the Qur’an. This is referred to as use of transformative
evidence. Therefore all that the Qur’an definitely refers to can be
taken as truth without any hesitation.
"And we have not sent thee (O Muhammad) save as a bringer of
good tidings and a warner unto all mankind, but most of mankind know
not"
The Qur’an and the Sunnah (path and direction of the Prophet) act as
the source of Shariah (divine law) in Islam, as rationally confirmed
sources of God’s law mankind is obliged to follow them in all
details. This basis is the creed or doctrine upon which all actions
in life should be referred.
11. Life and Progress
For mankind to progress in life means a comprehensive way of life
must be adopted. All of the great civilisations adopted an ideology
against which all of lifes affairs were referred and problems
solved. Mankind today is in no different a position. We must think
deeply of our situation and not accept any way of life blindly. The
facts are that the two dominant ideologies existent in the world
today, Capitalism and Communism, have been accepted without any
searching examination of the basis upon which they are built. Does
twentieth century man think of what the concepts of freedom and
democracy really mean. Is mankind ‘free’ in all actions? There must
be a controlling influence, but where does the control exercised by
a democracy lead us ? The control by an elected minority backed by a
faceless elite ? A rapidly declining environment, massive increases
in crime, the breakdown of the family unit and a selfish drive for
profit and individualism are all manifestations of man-made systems.
Secular systems are open for abuse, and even a sincere leadership
cannot hope to guide mankind with mankinds limited knowledge and
understanding of life.
Part of our problem today is that man does not think of his
situation, and what little thought brought forward to solve any
problem is based upon a consensus view. It is a fundamental error to
believe that a majority view or view of the lowest common
denominator is correct all the time. We see that the average view or
majority view may bear no resemblance to the truth at all. In a
society where domination of an unthinking public is very easy,
through such forces as the media, then control of the consensus view
can be almost complete. The results are devastating, as we see with
our environment. Man must return to using his intellect, and not
settle for anything less than the truth.
Any examination of the options open to mankind should not leave out
the last of the monotheistic faiths, a faith in which a code of
conduct for all of mankind is clearly set out without bias and
uncertainty. Islam is based totally upon the existence of one
Creator, that has created us, the rest of life and the universe. The
proof of that Creator is before our eyes if only we spend time to
contemplate upon all that we can perceive.
It was narrated by Abu Anas and Abu Dardah that Muhammad said: "An
hour in contemplation is worth more than spending a whole night in
prayer"
Many things exist, but we perceive of nothing that exists of its own
accord, all are limited and dependant. Limited, finite things must
be created. All dependant things depend upon an external force for
their sustenance and existence. Our instincts tell us that we need
to look up to something greater than ourselves for guidance, an
instinct man has been satisfying for as long as history records.
Belief in God is instinctive and rational. Mankind comes to faith in
God because he needs an answer to the most important question of
where did he come from and why is he here. The true faith in God is
intellectually based, emotions play a part, but it is only through
intellectually and rationally proven facts that man will become
convinced of a thought, and then act accordingly. The intellectual
acceptance that there is only one God and that Muhammad is his
Messenger is a condition for entering Islam.
There are numerous references to mankinds responsibility in life
given in the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW).
"Allah has not created man and jinn except as a worship unto him"
Man’s role of trustee of the earth is also referred to clearly in
the Qur’an. "I am about to place a trustee in the earth"
[2:30]
All of ones life should be in accordance with the direction given to
us by our Creator. This is what worship in its widest sense means.
We are not free to undertake anything we wish in life, we are
subject to the laws and controls given to us to regulate our
affairs. All societies need systems to ensure harmony and progress,
Islam has given us the basis or creed from which all systems
emanate. Man’s systems for social law, government and ruling,
economy, and justice are all given from this basis from our Creator.
To ignore these facts is to ignore our responsibility in life. To
lead a life apart from that given by our Creator is to invite misery
and oppression as individuals and as a nation of believers. Mankind
is only truly freed up for progress by living in accordance with his
God given instincts, and within a system given by our Creator. To
accept otherwise is to invoke the wrath of our Creator and to live
in a constant round of inefficiency, as man chases yet another man
made system, the systems of insecurity and doubt. |
