Wickedness, injustice, grief, pessimism, trouble, loneliness, fear, stress, frustration, distrust, unscrupulousness, anxiety, rage, jealousy, resentment, drug addiction, immorality, gambling, prostitution, hunger, poverty, social corruption, theft, war, struggle, violence, oppression, fear of death… News about these issues appears in the newspapers and on TV every day. The popular press devotes entire pages to these subjects, while others serialize articles about their psychological and social aspects. However, our acquaintance with these feelings is not limited solely to the press; in daily life, we, too, frequently come across such problems and, more importantly, personally experience them. People and societies endeavour to liberate themselves from the distressing experiences, disorder and repressive social structures that have prevailed over the world for long periods. We only need to glance at ancient Greece; the Great Roman Empire; Tsarist Russia, or the so-called Age of Enlightenment, and even the 20th century-a century of misery which saw two world wars and world-wide social disasters. No matter upon which century or location you concentrate your research, the picture will not be appreciably different. If this is the case, why haven't people succeeded in solving these problems, or at least some efforts been made to remove such social diseases from society? People have encountered these problems in all ages, yet each time they have failed to find any solutions because the methods they employed were inappropriate. They sought various solutions, tried different political systems, laid down impracticable and totalitarian rules, stirred up revolutions or subscribed to perverted ideologies, while many others preferred to adopt an indifferent attitude and merely accepted the status quo. In our day, people are almost numbed by this way of living. They readily believe these problems to be "facts of life." They picture a society immune to these problems as being nothing short of impossible-a dream utopia. They persistently and openly express their distaste for such a way of living, yet easily embrace it, since they think they have no other alternative. The resolution of all these problematic issues is possible only by living by the principles of the "true religion." Only when the values of true religion prevail can a pleasant and tranquil scene replace this gloomy and unfavourable picture, which is doomed to continue so long as God's limits are ignored. To put it another way, people are enslaved by these complications as long as they avoid the values of the Qur'an. Put simply, this is the "nightmare of disbelief." Disbelief has various negative impacts upon human beings and societies alike. In a society far removed from religion, the basic characteristics of its members are injustice, selfishness and untrustworthiness. This inevitably is the nature of disbelieving societies. Only the values of religion assure moral perfection for societies and individuals. Those having faith in God and the hereafter conduct themselves responsibly, since they only live to attain the approval of God. Fearing ALLAH, the God almighty, they cautiously avoid wicked deeds, attitudes and behaviour not praised by Him. A society dominated by such people becomes one that does not experience social problems. However, a disbelieving person, failing to recognise that he will ultimately be rewarded or punished for his deeds, does not observe the limits of Allah. Disregarding the Day of Judgement, he simply does not see any necessity to curb his wickedness. Despite avoiding certain socially unfavourable forms of behaviour, many people do not hesitate to commit other evils when they are urged, encouraged or have an opportunity. For someone who shows his preference for disbelief, troubles begin while he is still in this world, since everyone, deep in his heart, knows that he should adhere to the values of religion. Surely everyone is endowed with the faculty of conscience. But while this mechanism is very fine-tuned in believers, it becomes almost dysfunctional in those who do not live by the values of religion. In other words, by paying no heed to their conscience, people who have drifted apart from the values of religion experience spiritual distress. Everyone, in reality, knows that he has a Creator, that he is responsible to Him and that he should display moral perfection. Yet, these are essentially in conflict with his worldly whims and desires. That is why, individuals either entirely reject religion, or find excuses such as "I am honest, good and sincere" so as to avoid the way of living described in the Qur'an. However, in both cases, people in their subconscience know that they should lead the type of life approved of by Allah. In societies distant from the values of religion, the basic source of all mental anguish, all psychological and spiritual problems is this spiritual distress which we call "pangs of conscience." The state of those who start to experience this grief while they are still in this world is expressed in the following verse: They say: When will this promise be fulfilled if you are telling the truth? Say: "It may well be that some of what you are anxious to hasten is right on your heels." (Surat an-Naml: 71-72). "Pangs of conscience" are only a minor part of the eternal and unbearable spiritual grief a non-believer feels in the hereafter. The reason why man suffers from this worldly pain is because he prefers a way of living, attitude and outlook contrary to his purpose in creation. As long as he persists in his irreligious attitudes and mentality, he is doomed to suffer from spiritual grief. That is why he feels the urge to find ways to silence the voice of his conscience and hence find relief from mental suffering. Mentally and physically, man is naturally inclined towards the values of religion. God has surely created not only man but also the most proper way of living for him. Therefore, transgressing beyond the boundaries of God naturally leads to personal and sociological complications which are actually the social and personal miseries, and have had a negative impact upon humanity throughout history. The one and only way to eradicate these complications is adherence to the values of religion. Religion brings solutions to each one of these complications in a real sense. There is no reason why any person, who does not live by the values of religion, and therefore, who is not expecting to be judged by his deeds and ultimately punished, should observe the limits set by God and work for the good and interest of others in order to attain God's approval. According to his mistaken beliefs, given that he has only one chance to live in this world, he thinks he should lead his life in the most comfortable conditions, go after anything he wants and be able to do anything he likes. The Qur'an puts this rationale as follows: They say, "There is nothing but our existence in the world. We die and we live and nothing destroys us except for time" They have no knowledge of that. They are only conjecturing. (Surat al-Jathiya: 24). Anyone with such a mistaken approach is vulnerable to all kinds of wickedness or immorality. He may unabashedly lie, steal, break his promises, resort to violence, take lying for granted, defraud, or exploit the labour and resources of others whenever he has the opportunity. There is simply nothing to hold such a person back from evil. In time, being enslaved by his ego (lower soul), he obeys its commandments without any hesitation. He sees no limits to how he should engage in wickedness. If it is in his interest, he sees no reason not to commit murder. Daily newspapers run headlines about such incidents. Their pages are full of news about people killing their neighbours for jewellery, women killing their husbands out of rage, fathers killing their unborn daughters or people murdering their parents for money. Definitely, there are countless similar incidents occurring each day, which remain hidden. All these provide clear evidence that people have become the blind slaves of their lower selves. Spiritually, they are inferior even to animals. In the Qur'an, each such individual is called "the Transgressor beyond bounds, the Sinner." (Surat al-Mutaffifin: 12). Religion teaches man the concepts of reliability and fidelity. It would be quite wrong to expect these concepts to endure in a society where the values of the Qur'an do not prevail, since the individual remains faithful to others in all circumstances-in times of difficulty and trouble as well as good times-solely when he endeavours to earn Allah's approval. Otherwise, if one thinks that one will not give account for his deeds and be punished for one's wicked acts, one would simply be driven by one's own interests and become a wholly selfish creature. Society abounds in examples. People fall away from one who retires from a respectable position, from the celebrity who no longer attracts people's attention, and from the wealthy man who goes bankrupt. Similarly, one afflicted by a deadly disease bitterly feels the loss of his friends as they desert him. In newspapers, it is possible to read about examples of unfaithfulness every day. For instance, in business life, partners cheat one another. In such interest-ridden relations, it is possible to witness all sorts of immoral behaviour, since money is of the greatest significance in daily life. Materialism brings a little worldly benefit but detaches the human beings from attaining their ultimate happiness. Religion is a ray of hope for happiness both at individual as well as at societal level
|
Archives
June 2016
Categories |