YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
The remedy for ignorance is asking questions. (Prophet Muhammad)
The spirit of enquiry is the hallmark of an open society and the above saying of the Prophet aptly illustrates this principle. A culture of curiosity and open-mindedness will foster development in any society by motivating its members to learn enthusiastically and enrich their knowledge. This is because awareness of one’s ignorance is half of knowledge, as it becomes a stepping-stone to seeking and finding answers. A questioning mind is like a flowing river that is replenished with fresh thoughts and ideas and continues on its journey.
People have a great deal to say about other human beings but are at a loss for words when it comes to the subject of God. Why?
Yes, people are storehouses of encyclopedic knowledge about human beings, but they are empty and uninformed where God is concerned. It is because they have not experienced the greatness of God. They have not witnessed the miracles of God. They are only aware of the creatures while remaining blissfully unaware of the Creator.
People utter the words ‘God is great’, yet why do not they actually experience the greatness of God?
People recite the words Allah-u-Akbar which means ‘God is great’ in their prayers but in practice, the greatness of others besides God dominates their lives. They do not realize that the aura of greatness surrounding humans in this world is just a façade put on for the test of humans. Those who can see through this façade will realize that no one besides God has any real greatness.
Why does the greatness of other humans dominate people’s lives?
Man is forced by his very nature and the circumstances in which he finds himself on earth to seek some external source of dependence. Unable to rely on his scant inner resources, he seeks a prop in life— one who will compensate for his shortcomings. Only God with His Infinite power can help us and guide us. However, since God is not visible in this world, man, wanting to see something before he believes it—usually sees other human beings and allots the greatness to them that should have been allotted to God alone.
Who are the people considered as great?
Usually, charismatic leaders occupy this spot of “greats” in the sight of men, who have captured the popular imagination. Such leaders are accorded the adulation that should be accorded to God alone. Faced with an inner vacancy, a yawning gap in his soul that had to be filled, man should have turned to God for replenishment instead of other men.
What is the harm of according greatness to humans?
Man has been endowed with certain faculties in this world. He has been invested with bodily strength and blessed with intellectual prowess. He has been granted access to wealth, rank, resources and opportunities. All these human faculties are from God. He has given them to man for a purpose: that man should use them to earn something for himself.
There are two ways for a man to “earn”. One is that which leads to what the Quran calls being ‘arrogant in the land without justification. However, another form of earning is the opposite of this, which is the earning of humility and graciousness from what one has.
In other words, if a person is proud of what he has in this world, he uses it for his self-aggrandizement, which will make it a steppingstone to personal power which gives rise to arrogance leading to oppression of other humans.
The other form of earning comes from seeing the resources he has been endowed with as God’s gift. A man sees his helplessness before God and thanks Him for His countless blessings. Instead of using his faculties and resources for personal ends, he devotes them to the service of God which is nothing but benefitting the fellow humans.
What is the harm of self-glory?
Humans are not perfect beings and have limitations. In such a situation living in a sense of greatness will only come in the way of one’s intellectual development. Man will be under the illusion that he knows it all. This will lead to arrogance. He will not be open to healthy criticism. He will harbour feelings of power over people, not acknowledging the contribution of his fellow beings and failing to be grateful to both man and God. He will live a self-oriented life in which self-interest, personal ambition, greed and lust are the dominating motive forces. One who lives such a life puts all he has into furthering his interests.
The other person who recognizes and acknowledges God as great will be a humble person who will live a God-oriented life which acknowledges God’s greatness on one hand and his humility vis-à-vis other fellow beings which will be a driving force for him to contribute positively to the human society as a duty and not as a favour.
How can one develop the feelings of greatness for God?
Multiple verses in the Quran point out that there are signs in the universe for people to understand. God has set up material symbols to see the reflection of invisible realities in the mirror of visible signs. The sun and the moon give us a glimpse of God—the source of all light. The birds and the animals provide us with a picture of innocence; they are God’s representatives on our planet. The sky, in its vastness, gives us an idea of the might and greatness of God. The beauty of this world will remind him of God’s beauty; the greatness of the natural phenomena impresses on him the greatness of the One who created them.
If a person opens his mind to the world’s wonders, taking in all that he sees in the universe, he will find the light of God shining in all that he beholds. He will come to know of the glory and greatness of God.
