Those who believe and whose hearts find comfort in the remembrance of Allah. Aye! It is in the remembrance of Allah that hearts can find comfort.—The Holy Quran, 13:29
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Chapter Six
In the end, though last but not the least, let me emphasise that the quality and attitude of individual members of society play a most significant role in the creation of a peaceful or disorderly society.
We have discussed so far the architecture and design of the religious, social, economic and political edifices that Islam plans to erect. As to the nature of bricks required to be used as building material, Islam lays great emphasis on the character and qualities of the individual.
This is a wide subject spread over the length and breadth of the Holy Quran. Following are the essential features which I understand Islam attempts to inculcate in every member of society.
According to Islam, both desires and ambitions are activated and curtailed under Divine guidance so that a perfect balance is achieved. Without such a balance, it is impossible to achieve social peace. Islam promotes such desires and ambitions as are largely independent of one’s financial state of affairs and are available to individuals at all levels at no or nominal cost.
The ambition to rise above the common run of people, and to attain distinction is but natural. However, this natural desire to excel and rise above others, if left undisciplined and uncurtailed can become unwholesome. Jealousy and foul play, for instance, can poison the spirit of free competition to a degree that the entire society begins to suffer rather than benefit from the advantages of a competitive spirit.
The tendency to use drugs in sports is but a small example; but competition in industry, trade and commerce in the national and international spheres, provides us with extremely ugly examples of the absence of level playing fields.
The type of foul play differs in the Third World countries from that in the more advanced nations. In the Third World, corruption, adulteration, breach of trust, fraud and deceit are but a few instruments freely employed to achieve a quick economic gain. That is why in all spheres of human activity, religious and moral education is required to be employed. The lack of such education can lead to dire consequences.
Islam provides us with detailed instructions covering the entire field of competitive conduct. Alas! In the Muslim countries themselves, where one hears so much of Islamisation and Islamic fundamentalism, seldom does one come across a serious attempt to Islamise industry, trade, commerce and economic relations—a tragedy of the first order, indeed.
The following verse of the Holy Quran presents the essence of Islamic teaching in this field:
Everyone has an ultimate goal to pursue which dominates him. We fix that goal for you, do you, then vie with one another in goodness. Wherever you be, Allah will bring you all together. Surely, Allah has the power to do all that He wills.1
In this brief statement, boundless wisdom is miraculously compressed and preserved. It serves as a guiding principle covering competition of all types and in all fields. Goodness must stand supreme. It must remain the ultimate goal. It must itself become the object of all competition. All foul play and meanness is completely banished at a single stroke.
If time could permit, we could go into greater length and provide ample illustrations from Islamic teachings as to how competition should be kept healthy, pure and correct. Seldom do people realise that real peace of mind and heart lies in the realisation of one’s being good and not in some fabulous feat achieved by employing bad and foul means. Such individuals are never at peace with either society or themselves. To casual observers, they present a facade of great attainment and consequential satisfaction but it is more a hollow victory rather than a real triumph.
A close friend of a late multi-millionaire from Pakistan once told me a surprising tale of utter despondency. Once he complimented his friend on his great achievement and success. Instead of being pleased, the multi-millionaire’s spontaneous reaction was most surprising. He opened up the front buttons of his shirt and moved his hand as if he was about to rend his chest apart using his nails like the claws of an animal. He exclaimed: ‘Woe to this success. If one could tear open my chest and see within, one would find nothing but a raging fire.’ Some confess to this hard reality; some do not. None can defeat human nature. One can succeed in amassing colossal wealth and have access to all amenities and luxuries of life. But there is no begrudging the fact that there are few, if any, rich people who are truly happy and content. Their condition is described in the Holy Quran as follows:
Woe to every backbiter, slanderer, who amasses wealth and keeps counting it. He thinks that his wealth will make him immortal. Nay, he shall surely be cast into the crushing torment. And what should make thee know what the crushing torment is? It is Allah’s kindled fire which rises over the hearts. It will be closed in on them, in widely extended columns.2
Yet truly sincere satisfaction will continue to evade one unless one satisfies the ingrained urge in human nature to do good, be good and lead a noble life.
The promotion of love between kith and kin to build a strongly bonded family system has already been discussed under social peace. Here it is being mentioned to highlight the need to improve the quality of the individual who performs a role in the society similar to that of a brick. Without improving the quality of the brick, the quality of the building cannot be improved.
The emphasis in Islam is on being able to draw pleasure from being of service to others rather than vice versa. The following part of a verse of the Holy Quran delivers this message:
You are the best of the people by virtue of being of service to and raised for the benefit of mankind; you enjoin good, and forbid evil and believe in Allah.3
This indicates that a Muslim is not given precedence over others arbitrarily. Just to be a Muslim would not automatically imply that he or she is better than others. One has to earn this title by being of service to others so that the flow of favours is from that one to the others.
Defining the meaning of khair, which means both better and best, the Holy Prophet(sa) once said: The upper hand is better than the lower hand: the upper hand gives and spends, the lower hand begs and receives.4
In the Holy Quran and the traditions of the Holy Prophet(sa) this aspect is so highly emphasised that some Companions of the Holy Prophet(sa) set new and lofty standards in this area of human excellence. Not only did they endeavour to be of service to others but were hesitant to receive and beg favours from others.
‘Auf Ibn Malik Ashja‘i relates: Seven, eight or nine of us were with the Holy Prophet(sa) on one occasion when he said: Will you not make a covenant with the Messenger(sa) of Allah? We had only shortly before made our covenant. So we said: We have made our covenant with you, Messenger(sa) of Allah. Holy Prophet(sa) repeated his question and we made the same response adding: What covenant shall we now make with you? He said: That you will worship Allah and will not associate aught with Him, that you will observe the five obligatory prayers, will obey Allah, and will not ask anyone for anything. Thereafter, I have noticed that if a riding whip fell from the hand of one of them, he would not ask anyone to restore it for him.5
The emphasis on service is not just a dry and austere approach, but an attempt to refine human attitudes and to inculcate in man a taste for more sophisticated values. Once more refined tastes are developed; human beings can be trained to enjoy being of service to others far more than merely being recipient of favours and service provided by others. One half of faith is service to God’s creation. The motto in Islam seems to be that an act of goodness is a reward in itself. It is beyond the realm of argument; it can only be experienced.
In cultivating higher values in human behaviour, Islam does not stop short at that. Islam creates amongst its followers a consciousness that appreciation by God of all one’s goodness is all that matters and should matter. This emphasis obviates the urge for showing-off one’s good deeds to merit applause from human observers. It is more than sufficient for a true believer that all his deeds, whether good or bad, are in the knowledge of the All-Seeing God. Speaking of this, the Holy Quran observes:
On that day the earth will narrate its account, for thy Lord has so directed it. On that day people will come forth in diverse groups that they may be shown the consequences of their actions. Then whoso will have done a good deed even as small and insignificant as a minute particle will see it had been noticed by God and whoso will have done an evil deed as small and insignificant as a minute particle will also see it had been noticed by God.6
It should be noted that this is an important step in the direction of reforming human society. It is the only effective cure for the vanity of man and his urge to display and exult.
In a wider definition of charity, the Holy Prophet(sa), included the following acts which merit a reward from God:
Charity is due from every limb of a person on every day on which the sun rises. Doing justice between two persons is charity, to help a person ride his mount or to place his baggage on it is charity, removing from a path that occasions inconvenience is charity.7
If a Muslim plants a tree, then whatever is eaten from it is charity on his part and whatever is stolen from it is charity and whatever is subtracted from it is charity.8
Shield yourselves against the Fire, even if it be by giving away half a date in charity, and if that should be lacking, by saying a good word.9
If a person should have nothing, he should work with his hands to his own benefit and also give away alms. If he is unable to work, he should help a needy helpless one. If he cannot even do that, he should urge others to goodness. If he lacks that also, he should restrain himself from doing evil. That too is charity.10
Even a morsel of food fed in your wife’s mouth earns the love of God.
Islam develops sensibility and sensitivity to the pains and sufferings of others. We have already discussed this aspect under the section dealing with socio-economic and political peace. No further comments are needed here.
Islam widens one’s sphere and the ability to love not only one’s fellow human beings but also the entire creation of God. As Islam claims to be the last revealed religion addressed not only to a people but the whole of mankind, one normally expects that the Prophet(sa) of Islam should accordingly be described as a source of light and blessing for all mankind. But one is surprised to read, instead, that the Holy Prophet(sa) is described in the Holy Quran as:
A blessing for the entire universe.11
The word ‘alam in Arabic means a world or the whole world. The word used here, however, is al ‘alamin which is the plural of ‘alam (the whole world). As such, we have translated it here as the entire universe. A sceptic may not be convinced of the validity of such a tall title. But a deeper understanding of the relationship of the office of universal prophethood, which the Holy Prophet(sa) undoubtedly possessed can reveal the wisdom of the title a blessing for the entire universe.
According to the Quranic concept of creation, the philosophy of the creation of just the inanimate universe would have served little purpose other than being, God forbid, a futile act on the part of the Creator. Who would know and who would share the knowledge with the Creator of the existence of things? It would have been tantamount to the creation of nothing less. The purpose of creation was to create a consciousness and ultimately to improve, widen and enhance the quality of that consciousness to the purpose of creation.
This is not a simple objective and needs a separate full discussion, which would be beyond the scope of today’s address. The relevant part, to put it simply, is that the ultimate purpose of creation was to create a conscious being of the highest order who would not only voluntarily submit to the most consummate beauty of God as reflected in His creation directly, but would also lead fellow creation of the highest order (i.e. mankind) to this ultimate goal of creation, or at least, make it possible for those among them who desire to follow Him.
Hypothetically, remove the ultimate object of creation for a while, and suddenly the entire raison d’etre for the creation and maintenance of this universe would collapse. In its simplified example, the reason for the planting of a seedling and nurturing, irrigating, pruning and maintenance of a fruit tree is the fruit itself. If there was to be no fruit, there would be no tree. All the effort in planting, nursing and maintaining the fruit tree without the concept of a fruit as the end product would be totally vain and meaningless. As such, the entire fruit tree, inclusive of its roots, stalk, stem, twigs, leaves and buds virtually remain obliged to the fruit. Though preceding in time, all parts of the tree remain obliged to their ultimate purpose. It is the beneficence of the purpose, which creates the instrument of creation itself.
In light of this relationship between the supreme object of creation and the rest of the universe, when one studies the teachings of Islam, one would be surprised to realise that Islam encompasses not only the relationship between man and God and God and man, but also man’s relationship with the animal kingdom and the inanimate world around him.
All that exists becomes sacred not because of its superiority to man but because it is created specifically by the Lord of creation for man, directly or indirectly. Nothing in the universe remains meaningless any longer or remote and disconnected. Even the remotest stars acquire a meaning and a place in the scheme of human creation. This is what is repeatedly discussed in the Holy Quran from different angles of which the following are a few examples:
We call to witness the sun and its growing brightness, and the moon when it follows it, and the day when it reveals its glory, and the night when it draws a veil over it, and the heaven and the purpose of its making, and the earth and the purpose of its spreading out, and the soul and its perfect proportioning and He revealed to it the right and wrong of everything, he indeed prospers who purifies it, and he is ruined who corrupts it.12
He has subjected to you whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth, all of it is from Him. In that surely are Signs for a people who reflect.13
He has constrained to your service the night and the day and the sun and the moon and the stars too have been constrained to your service by His command. Surely in all this there are signs for a people who make use of their understanding.14
Have you not seen that Allah has constrained to your service whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth, and poured out His favours to you, visible and hidden? Yet there are some among men who dispute concerning Allah, without knowledge or guidance, or the authority of an illuminating Book.15
Surely, We have created man in the best mould.16
Many other verses and even small chapters of the Holy Quran are devoted entirely to this subject explaining that man is a micro-universe, which has received influence from all forms of creation. Even the remotest star has contributed to this micro-universe of man.
But this relationship is not that of a servant to his master but that of the master to his servant. The masters do not bow and prostrate before those who serve them. Man, therefore, emerges as the master of the whole universe and the servant of only the One Who is the Lord and Creator of the universe.
How different is this philosophy from that of many other religions which teach not only idol worship but also nature worship in so many forms. In their philosophies, the moon, star(s), the sun, oceans, trees, rain, lightning, thunderstorms or even animals such as cows, snakes, or birds, all appear in a way superior to man. Man is taught to worship them as gods by virtue of their superiority of some sort over man. In short, man is placed at the lowest order of things and is made subservient to everything, which was only created to serve him.
In the Islamic understanding of the scheme of things man is the master, in a manner of speaking, of all creation. Man, therefore, stands under the greatest obligation to the Creator because it is he who has benefited most from the creation of God, Who has constrained everything to the service of man.
In other words, man is emancipated from all bondage by accepting just one bondage—that of his Creator. Man is the personification and symbol of the conscience and the consciousness of the entire universe. When he bows and prostrates before his Creator, in him bows and prostrates the whole cosmos. When he returns to the Creator the entire universe returns, in a manner of speaking, to the Creator.
This ultimate realisation and the shaping of one’s life to this goal is, according to Islam, the ultimate peace.
A phrase in the Holy Quran, oft-repeated by Muslims, encompasses this philosophy in a few words:
We belong to Allah and to Him must we ultimately return.17
Few understand that here the meaning of return is not physical but spiritual. It is not just a statement of fact but a reminder of the purpose of man’s creation. Just as a salmon cannot find peace until it returns to the place of its origin—its spawning ground, the human heart cannot find peace without spiritually returning to its source of creation. This is the meaning of the verse:
Those who believe and whose hearts find peace in the remembrance of Allah because it is only in the remembrance of Allah that hearts can find peace.18
Man cannot live at peace with himself nor can peace be vouchsafed for society without this formula; no other formula can work. It is only the love of God which can bring about true respect for His creation. The higher the order of creation, the nearer it becomes to the Creator and the stronger the bond between the created and the Creator grows.
Man begins to respect other men with a higher and nobler object; i.e. out of his respect and the obligation owed to his Creator, man begins to respect mankind. One can, therefore, say that in essence, it is the love of God which is transformed into the love for His creation. Hypothetically, remove God from the scenario for a while and suddenly human relationships acquire a completely different perspective.
The vacuum created by the non-existence of God is suddenly filled by man’s ego. It is a very naive and extremely ignorant philosophy that man can live without God. What atheism ultimately achieves is not just the death of one God but it suddenly brings to life a myriad of gods. Every conscious being that exists, suddenly acquires the role of a god unto himself or itself. Ego, selfishness and the total commitment to serve one’s own ends grow stronger and all-powerful.
Societies, which are built with the bricks of such individuals, always remain egoistic and self-oriented.
There is no logic left in being beneficial to others without an ulterior motive. There is no external reference point left in the form of a beneficent God, who is the only binding and meeting point of all forms of creation.
This is the ultimate Islamic philosophy. Without returning to God one cannot attain peace and without that peace, peace in society cannot be built. All human efforts to create peace from selfish ulterior motives are bound to fail and come to nothing. If there is no God, there is no peace. That is the ultimate wisdom.
Thank you.
1 Ch. 2: Al-Baqarah: 149
2 Ch. 104: Al-Humazah: 2–10
3 Ch. 3: Al-‘Imran: 111
4 Bukhari, Kitabuz Zakat, Babu La Sadaqatin illa ‘an Zahri Ghinan
5 Muslim, Kitabuz Zakat, Babu Karahatil Mas’alati lin Nasi
6 Ch. 99: Al-Zilzal: 5–9
7 Bukhari, Kitabul Jihadi was Siyari, Babu man Akhadha birrikabi wa Nahwihi
8 Muslim, Kitabul Musaqati wal Muzara‘ati, Babu Fadlil Gharsi waz Zar‘i
9 Bukhari, Kitabul Manaqib, Babu ‘Alamatin Nubuwwati fil Islami
10 Bukhari, Kitabul ’Adab, Babun Kullu Ma’rufin Sadaqatun Muslim, Kitabuz Zakat, Babu Bayanismas Sadaqati Yaqa‘u ‘Ala Kulli Nau‘imminal Ma‘rufi
11 Ch. 21: Al-Anbiya’: 108
12 Ch. 91: Al-Shams: 2–11
13 Ch. 45: Al-Jathiyah: 14
14 Ch. 16: Al-Nahl: 13
15 Ch. 31: Luqman: 21
16 Ch. 95: Al-Tin: 5
17 Ch. 2: Al-Baqarah: 157
18 Ch. 13: Al-R‘ad: 29