Spirit of Islam, July 2013

I N the universe known to us, man is the only creature who possesses superior intelligence. No other creature, so far as we know, is so abundantly endowed with this faculty. Animals, apparently very much like ourselves in certain ways, exist nevertheless on a lower plane, because all their actions are governed by instinct. Instinct, in a broad sense, may be defined as unconscious intelligence. Conscious intelligence—the wellspring of moral choice—is the hallmark of homo sapiens: no other species can lay claim to it. Modern research has shown that the human brain has infinite potential: it contains approximately 100 billion nerve cells or neurons, each having about 10,000 connections with its neighbours. This means that man is born with unlimited capacities. It has been found that the average person utilizes less than 10% of their brain's capability. Experience shows that everyone departs from this world with an acute sense of having failed to achieve what he/she most desired. Fulfilment is the deepest aspiration of a human being. But seldom does anyone attain this objective before death. This is a tragedy which falls to the lot of the majority of men and women in this life. Man requires a far superior world and far greater longevity for his total fulfilment. In this world, there are innumerable creatures other than man. They are born and they die like human beings. But unlike man, they are never faced with the problem of discontentment. The word ‘tragedy’ exists only in the human lexicon. Nowhere does it figure in that of animals. We can find the answer to this contradiction if we compare man with animals. A comparative study of man and animals shows that the concept of tomorrow—an exceptional one—is entertained exclusively by man. If it is man’s nature to want to extend his today into tomorrow, it is because he hopes that what he failed to find today, he will find tomorrow. The case of animals is quite different. The study of animals shows that THE CONCEPT OF TOMORROW