Prophetic Guidance for the Modern Age

results. In ancient times, man remained engaged in intellectual efforts without differentiating between the knowable and the unknowable. This was a totally futile effort. But when he separated the unknowable and began working only on the knowable, then his efforts were crowned with spectacular success. This is an instance, which shows how important it is in this world to recognize intellectual limitations: efforts bear fruit when man accepts the boundaries of knowledge. Before launching himself on an any course of action, he should know the correct starting point. He must have a clear perception of the difference between what is knowable and what is not. Only a keen realization of this distinction will yield appropriate results. A lack of proper understanding will render the greatest of efforts futile. From this example we can understand how important to man is the guidance of God’s Prophet. God is the Creator of the universe and as such is fully aware of its secrets. He then selects a person from amongst human beings, giving him all the fundamental knowledge, which is necessary for construction and development. This is the divine guide, a prophet, whose advice makes it possible for man to begin his journey in a state of enlightenment, so that he may receive the blessings of both worlds. Man has received many beneficial things from the Prophet of Islam. The first of these is conviction. It is the Prophet’s guidance alone which enables man to begin his life with the full confidence of faith. Man is certainly in need of such knowledge as may guide him in his thoughts and actions. One discipline we turn to in this connection is philosophy. But philosophy itself admits that it has yet to reach the ultimate reality, for it is still in the questing stage. This being so, all that philosophy can give man is skepticism. It cannot provide him with a source of conviction. Then comes science. But science has itself admitted its inability to perform this service, having declared in advance that its chosen subject of study was only a part or the outward face of the knowledge of the universe. Knowledge of the universe as a whole was not to be an object of scientific research. Obviously, science is too limited in scope to provide man with the intellectual gift called conviction. The nineteenth century saw the rise of socialism, which acquired the status of a complete philosophy of life as expressed by the ideology of Karl Marx (d. 1883). This ideology, initially given wide credence, cast its spell over a large number of the world’s intellectuals. In 1917, on the basis of this ideology, Marx’s supporters established a full-fledged government in Russia, which later expanded to become a great empire – the Soviet Union. From that time right into the middle of the twentieth century, Marxist socialism was the dominant world ideology. The American economist, John Kenneth Galbraith, claimed that Marx himself had achieved greater popularity in present times than all other historical figures, including Muhammad. The Marxist magic was undone only when the Soviet Union itself disintegrated in 1991. By the grace of God, about 35 years before the fall of the Soviet Union, by delving deeper into