The problems that confront man in the present age can all be traced, directly or indirectly, to one underlying cause: the separation of man from God. In this modern age man has acquired many material comforts, but he has lost his faith in God. Material progress has provided man with plenty of physical nourishment, but it has left his soul to starve. The soul is essential to the life of the body. If it is separated from the body entirely, then the body dies; and if it is deprived of spiritual nourishment, then it starves in the same way as the body does. It is this spiritual nourishment, which the Quran describes as ‘better and more lasting’ (THE QURAN 20: 131). And this is what the Prophet Jesus was referring to when he said, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’ (Matthew, 4:4).
Some people, compelled by an inner longing for God, attach themselves to false gods, but true spiritual fulfilment can be achieved only through the discovery of the true God.
The greatest asset that Islam has to offer man today is this belief in God. All religions originally preached the true concept of God, but as time passed, none of them were able to preserve the concept of God in its original form. Some groups turned God into a national fetish. Others took to worshipping a variety of objects in the name of God. In some religions the concept of God was turned into an abstract philosophy. Thus no religion remained capable of offering a true picture of God. Only, Islam has preserved the true concept of God in a pure and complete form. It is in Islam that modern man will find the God he so desperately needs.
The Concept of God in Different Religions
Man’s feeling of helplessness cannot be soothed unless he has a God to whom he can turn. Every religion provides man with some God, but with the exception of Islam, every religion has been corrupted by interpolation and alteration. No religion, except Islam, has preserved a true image of God. They all present an unrealistic picture of the Almighty, which cannot fully satisfy man.
Cat Stevens was an internationally renowned pop musician. He was brought up as a Christian, but in 1976 he accepted Islam and is now known as Yusuf Islam. Speaking of his conversion to Islam, he said: “The Christian Church taught us to believe in God, but the only way to communicate with God was through Jesus—you have no direct contact.” To him, “the importance of Islam lies in the fact that it acquaints one with a God who speaks directly to the man and his soul.” (Arabia, London, July 1983)
Man’s nature demands a God whom he can contact directly, but existing religions offer him a God who can be contacted only through some intermediary. Islam is the only religion in which man establishes direct contact with his Lord. This is because Islam is preserved in its original, revealed form, whereas other religions, having been altered and corrupted by man, are not to be found in their pristine form.
All religions were essentially one and the same at the time of their origin. But now these differ from one another due to human interpolation. (THE QURAN 10: 19) Now, some religions have many gods to offer, but this is clearly not what man is looking for. Man is looking for a single being on whom he can focus all his feelings. There can be only one such focal point, not several. Some religions present God in the form of man. But man is looking for a God who is superior to him; he cannot worship a God who is human like himself. Some religions think of God as no more than a vague spirit. But man is seeking a God who sees and hears and speaks; abstract things cannot meet his demands.
Man is looking for a God who is superior to him; he cannot worship a God who is human like himself.
Arthur Koestler was a renowned thinker and writer, and had an estate valued at approximately £ 400,000. He married three times, but even so he was childless. He suffered from Parkinson’s disease and leukaemia. In utter despair he took his own life at his London residence in March 1983. He was 77 years old at the time of his death.
Hundreds of such sad events take place everyday all over the world. They happen because people lose hope in this world. There are very few cases in history of true believers in God committing suicide. The reason is that belief in God gives a person hope for his future in the next world. In God’s scheme of things, life is not limited to this world alone; it continues after death as well. When believers are afflicted in this world, they look forward to happiness in the next world. When they despair of the human world, they fix their hopes on the world of God. Thus the distress of a true believer is changed into healthy optimism.
A Distorted Picture of God
The distorted picture of God which is found in other religions cannot fulfil man’s inner yearning. The reason is that man requires a perfect God and these religions provide him with imperfect ones. Some people, compelled by an inner longing for God, attach themselves to false gods, but true spiritual fulfilment can be achieved only through the discovery of the true God. A person who is looking for a car that he can travel in will never be satisfied with a toy car. His needs will only be met if he is provided with a real one. Thus man’s heart can be set at rest only when it is filled with thoughts of the true God. In the words of the Quran, ‘In the remembrance of God all hearts are comforted.’ (THE QURAN 13:28)
Though we cannot behold the Creator in this world, the vast and magnificent universe that He has created is spread out before our eyes. We can see it and experience it. The human mind can be satisfied only with a God who is worthy of the present universe; a God who is great enough to be the creator of the magnificent universe that meets our eyes. A God who does not come up to these standards can hold no attraction for man.
An American scientist, Walter Oscar Lundberg, has explained this very clearly. He writes that a scientist has a special advantage over others in that he is able to understand God’s truth. The basic principles on which he works are in fact an expression of God’s existence. If this is the case, then why is it that so many scientists deny the very existence of God? This American scientist is of the opinion that one of the reasons is as follows:
‘In organized Christianity there is instilled deeply in young people a concept of God created in the image of man rather than of man created in the image of God. When such minds are later trained in science, this reversed and limited anthropomorphic concept gradually becomes more and more incompatible with the rational, inductive attitude of science. Ultimately, when all attempts at reconciliation fail, the concept of God may be abandoned entirely.’ (The Evidence of God in an Expanding Universe, p. 56)
Islam is not a new religion. Originally other religions and Islam were one and the same. But other religions underwent changes and failed to preserve an accurate image of God, whereas in Islam the concept of God has been preserved ideally: it is a picture of God in His most perfect form. The God of Islam is one God; He is Omnipotent; He always was and always will be; He has no partner; He alone has created the universe and He alone sustains it; He sees, hears and speaks; He is always near to answer the supplication of His servant; at no time or place is He parted from man; He helps man through every difficulty of this world and the next. The Quran introduces us to this perfect God. Whoever wishes to know God, can do so through the Quran.
Society
All the nations in present times, be they developed or underdeveloped, are faced with social problems. Human society everywhere is marked by tyranny and injustice, and people are faced with the question of how to reorganize society in order to establish a better human existence.
In the study of the human predicament, what strikes us time and again is that man is still confronted with the necessity to solve his problems in a world where all other creations of God have had their problems definitively solved. This goes to prove that man has gone astray in the thoroughfare of the universe. If he had followed the same thoroughfare as the rest of God’s creation, his problems too would have been solved in like manner.
All the things in existence in the universe are governed by the same universal law. Man wants to adopt a separate path for himself. All the things of the universe survive by being beneficial to others, whereas man wants to build his future on the exploitation of others. The tall objects in the universe cast their shadow on the ground in acknowledgement of their modesty, while any form of greatness achieved by man makes him arrogant. Everything in the universe is busy in its own tasks, and does not interfere in others’ spheres, while man clashes with others, attempting to construct himself out of the destruction of others. In the universe, floods occur which if given their freedom would wreak havoc, but the system of the universe diverts their course to the rivers and the seas. On the contrary, when man experiences such tempests in the form of negative feelings, he does not divert them to a positive course. Man wants others to suffer on his behalf.
If the ills of society are to be remedied, this contradiction should be put to an end. Human society should be made to follow the same universal system that is strictly adhered to by the universe. The day this happens, all the problems of human life will be solved. With the observance of God’s law in the universe there is harmony in nature, why should the observance of that same law by man not succeed in solving human problems?
Social Problems
What is society? It is in actual fact another name of a group of individuals. The behaviour of society is an aggregate of the behaviour of its individuals. If individuals are good, society likewise will be good. If individuals are not good, society will reflect their shortcomings.
The concept of God gives each member of society the most morally correct viewpoint. Its perception engenders in each individual such seriousness as enable him or her to do what is beneficial for the whole of mankind, and to refrain from acting to its disadvantage.
Belief in the life Hereafter is the greatest gift to human society. It enables man to turn to God to seek compensation for the wrong done to him.
Belief in God is the greatest of discoveries. It galvanizes one’s entire personality. This can be illustrated by the example of the game of carrom-board, which is played with 19 pieces arranged at the middle of a square board with holes at each corner. If a player can hit these pieces with a striker in such a way that they are all thrown into all the four holes at one stroke, he is said to have played a Master Stroke. Belief in God too is a kind of master stroke.
Belief in God affects a man’s whole being, bringing into play all of his forces. The conviction that man’s whole existence is in the grip of God has a complete influence on all of the individual’s thoughts, words and deeds. The true believer will never deviate from the straight path of nature.
Paying attention to the body alone, while abandoning the soul, does not produce an integrated personality. The consciousness of this inadequacy keeps the individual constantly dissatisfied, with the feeling that he has failed to find something that he really wanted.
It is this feeling of deprivation which in most cases is the cause of social evils. All tyranny and injustice in society are traceable to this discontent of some being vented on others. People continue to exploit others in order to satisfy their unfulfilled wishes. But, when belief in God takes root in the mind, it turns the man into a complex-free soul, (called a peaceful or serene soul in the Quran) no longer suffering from an inferiority complex about having fewer worldly things than others or from a superiority complex at being granted more. Under all circumstances, with his new, well-integrated personality, he remains a moderate person and that is what makes a man a better member of society.
Paying attention to the body alone, while abandoning the soul, does not produce an integrated personality.
A new element in his mental make-up is the feeling of responsibility. This feeling is always produced when he is aware of a power above him, which can take him to task. Over and above God, there is no such superior power as will induce a sense of accountability on man, forcing him to abide by the truth.
Belief in Almighty God produces an awareness in man that he is answerable to Him, which in turn makes him extremely cautious in his words and deeds. The possession of the new awareness is like having a guardian angel, which organizes his whole life. It turns him away from the perpetration of tyranny and expectation, and forces him to stick to the path of goodness and justice. The well-known English judge, Sir Matthew Hale, (1609-1676) had very aptly observed: “To say that religion is a cheat is to dissolve all those obligations whereby civil societies are preserved.” (Quoted by Julian Huxley, in Religion Without Revelation, p. 155)
Religion Without Revelation
When the majority of the members of a society come to accept the Islamic concept of God in their lives, a tremendous change takes place in social matters. This awareness that God is watching puts an end to double standards and the hypocritical stance. Believers do not exploit others as they know that they will have to account for their deeds in God’s court. Their lives, instead of remaining self-oriented, become God-oriented. To believe in God is to believe in an Almighty being who has access to the innermost recesses of the human mind, and who will take an account of all acts done openly or covertly. In this way belief in God takes away a person’s ego and haughtiness. The believer is totally sincere and is a realist in the true sense. This is the secret of all kinds of reform. If a man is sincere and realistic, he will perform all tasks in the most proper way, but if he lacks these qualities, he will mar everything that he undertakes. The Islamic concept of God produces this sincerity and realism in man.
All human beings in our world are not equal. Here some are weak, others strong; this difference is the cause of all the injustice prevalent in the world. Those who feel powerful tend to exploit those who appear weaker than themselves.
Belief in God roots out this evil from man. Belief in God tells man that the actual issue is not between man and man, but between God and man. Here, on the one hand is God, the allpowerful, and, on the other is man who has no power as compared to God. It is as if the division here is not between the less powerful and the more powerful, but between power and powerlessness. (THE QURAN 35:15)
To believe in God is to believe in an Almighty being who has access to the innermost recesses of the human mind, and who will take an account of all acts done openly or covertly.
Belief in God transforms man’s thinking. He begins to look at things not in relation to human beings but in relation to God. This is because he knows he has to face his Maker. Ultimately this causes the disappearance of a tyrannical mentality that had artificially surfaced as a result of seeing everything, not in relation to God but in relation to man. The believer thus comes down to his actual level. He becomes a man cut to size.
In a controversy arising between two persons or two nations, both in most cases, are at fault. In such a state of affairs, if one party admits its mistakes the other party too follows suit. On the contrary if one party remains adamant, the other party becomes equally unwilling to admit its own faults. This leads to an escalation of the strife, until it reaches a point of no return.
In all such cases, the actual problem is that no sooner does a quarrel start both the groups turn it into an issue of prestige. Each group knows that it shares the blame, yet it refrains from saying so, for any such outright admission would be humiliating in the extreme.
Yet if one of them were to take the initiative in admitting its mistakes, the state of affairs would change drastically. That prestige issue would now turn into an issue of balance. Now, with the admission of a mistake by one group, the other group, in admitting its errors would not be eating humble pie but simply following what the other group has already done. That is to say, such an admission by one of the group could induce its rival to adopt a balanced approach.
Such realism, the mainspring of a reformed life, is attainable only through sincere worship of God, self-effacement before His greatness and avowal of one’s own insignificance and lack of perfection. This realism is the mark of the true believer—one who believes in God when God in fact is not visible before us—how could a person of such faith and practice deign to indulge in matters of worldly prestige?
The system of nature follows the principle of balance. One of the strategies resorted to by nature to maintain this balance is diversion, or the redistribution of excessive amounts of force or energy. For instance, if all the water that comes down to earth in the form of rain were stored in the fields and settlements, an immeasurable strain would be placed on the environment. What nature does in this case is divert all the spare accumulated water to the rivers and seas.
The feeling of responsibility is always produced when man is aware of a power above him, which can take him to task.
It is this principle of diversion, which has been followed in the building of dams. Designed mainly for storage purposes, dams have a regulatory role in the environment, controlling floodwaters and diverting them to useful ends such as irrigation and the production of electricity. The same principle is followed in machines, like the steam engine. When the quantity of stream exceeds the required amount and too much pressure builds up, the steam is in a sense diverted by being allowed to escape through a safety valve.
In social life, there is a somewhat similar build-up of stresses and strains. When a number of people live together, it is but natural for complaints and grudges to surface between them. If these negative sentiments are allowed to escalate, discord and enmity are bound to develop. When that stage is reached, it becomes almost impossible to reform a human group or society.
In such a state of affairs these harmful feelings may be diverted. Belief in God and the Life hereafter serves this very purpose in life. It diverts those feelings—which are harmful to society—towards God.
In the early history of Israelites, there is the story of Joseph, who was separated from his father by his stepbrothers. Later, the same happened with Benjamin another brother of Joseph. He too, without his father’s knowledge, was separated from him. These were terrible losses for Jacob the father, and it was but natural that he became intensely miserable. Had he vented his negative feelings on his elder sons, there would have been great dissension and discord in his family. Instead, he diverted all his flood of feelings towards God saying: ‘I express my grief and sorrow to God.’
There was a similar diversion of negative feeling when Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab dismissed the Islamic General Khalid ibn al-Walid from his post of the Commander of the army to the position of an ordinary soldier. It was a rude shock to Khalid, but he redirected his hurt feelings to God, saying: ‘I fight not for the cause of Umar, but for the cause of God.’
Man’s feeling of helplessness cannot be soothed unless he has a God to whom he can turn.
Belief in the life Hereafter is the greatest gift to human beings. It enables man to turn to God and seek compensation for the wrong done to him. Whatever he has failed to find in man he can expect to find in God. In this way the negative feelings of a worshipper of God keep getting diverted to God instead of to man. In other words the superabundance of water that would have caused great harm in the form of a flood is canalized into a diversion pool. This can be concluded with an observation made by George Bernard Shaw: “If a man like Muhammad were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would solve its problems in a way that would bring it much-needed peace and happiness.”
The life of the Prophet Muhammad was a perfect example of what a true believer’s life should be. We need to go further than Bernard Shaw and say that “If true believers were born in this world, peace would certainly prevail—which should be our first priority.”
This is the concluding part of the article ‘Islam and the Modern Man’. Part I of this article appeared in the May 2015 issue of Spirit of Islam.
