Humanity in a New Age

where he could have become the Qaimuzzaman, but sadly enough, he failed to play this historic role. Shah Waliullah lived in the 18th century. Long before his times, in the 17th century, the seeds of a new age had already been sown in Europe, which was later to bring about a massive change across the world. That was the age of science, which replaced the age of taqlid or traditional thinking. In earlier times, when polytheism and idolatry were prevalent, natural phenomena were explained in terms of religious belief. However, for the first time in human history, these phenomena were explained purely in terms of material causes with the dawning of a new age. This was to lead to a fundamental transformation in human thought. However, Shah Waliullah was more concerned with local developments, in which he became deeply embroiled. He did not plan a course of action based on far-sightedness, which was what could have been expected of a Qaimuzzaman. In ancient times various natural phenomena were explained in terms of faith, for it was believed that God was the doer behind all events. Before Islam, when polytheism was rife, people generally believed several gods were responsible for these various phenomena. With the advent of Islam or the dawning of the age