ISLAM AND THE MODERN MAN - PART II

ISLAM AND THE MODERN MAN - PART II Nourishment for the Soul T HE problems that confront man in the present age can all be traced, directly or indirectly, to one underlying cause: the separation of man from God. In this modern age man has acquired many material comforts, but he has lost his faith in God. Material progress has provided man with plenty of physical nourishment, but it has left his soul to starve. The soul is essential to the life of the body. If it is separated from the body entirely, then the body dies; and if it is deprived of spiritual nourishment, then it starves in the same way as the body does. It is this spiritual nourishment, which the Quran describes as ‘better and more lasting’ (THE QURAN 20: 131). And this is what the Prophet Jesus was referring to when he said, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’ (Matthew, 4: 4). The greatest asset that Islam has to offer man today is this belief in God. All religions originally preached the true concept of God, but as time passed, none of them were able to preserve the concept of God in its original form. Some groups turned God into a national fetish. Others took to worshipping a variety of objects in the name of God. In some religions the concept of God was turned into an abstract philosophy. Thus no religion remained capable of offering a true picture of God. Only, Islam has preserved the true concept of God in a pure and complete form. It is in Islam that modern man will find the God he so desperately needs (THE QURAN 3: 85). The Concept of God in Different Religions Man’s feeling of helplessness cannot be soothed unless he has a God to whom he can turn. Every religion provides man with some God, but with the exception of Islam, every religion has been corrupted by interpolation and alteration. No religion, except Islam, has preserved a true image of God. They all present an unrealistic picture of the Almighty, which cannot fully satisfy man. Some people, compelled by an inner longing for God, attach themselves to false gods, but true spiritual fulfilment can be achieved only through the discovery of the true God.