ISLAM AND THE MODERN MAN - PART II

Islam is not a new religion. Originally other religions and Islam were one and the same. But other religions underwent changes and failed to preserve an accurate image of God, whereas in Islam the concept of God has been preserved ideally: it is a picture of God in His most perfect form. The God of Islam is one God; He is Omnipotent; He always was and always will be; He has no partner; He alone has created the universe and He alone sustains it; He sees, hears and speaks; He is always near to answer the supplication of His servant; at no time or place is He parted from man; He helps man through every difficulty of this world and the next. The Quran introduces us to this perfect God. Whoever wishes to know God, can do so through the Quran. Society All the nations in present times, be they developed or underdeveloped, are faced with social problems. Human society everywhere is marked by tyranny and injustice, and people are faced with the question of how to reorganize society in order to establish a better human existence. In the study of the human predicament, what strikes us time and again is that man is still confronted with the necessity to solve his problems in a world where all other creations of God have had their problems definitively solved. This goes to prove that man has gone astray in the thoroughfare of the universe. If he had followed the same thoroughfare as the rest of God’s creation, his problems too would have been solved in like manner. All the things in existence in the universe are governed by the same universal law. Man wants to adopt a separate path for himself. All the things of the universe survive by being beneficial to others, whereas man wants to build his future on the exploitation of others. The tall objects in the universe cast their shadow on the ground in acknowledgement of their modesty, while any form of greatness achieved by man makes him arrogant. Everything in the universe is busy in its own tasks, and does not interfere in others’ spheres, while man clashes with others, attempting to construct himself out of the destruction of others. In the universe, floods occur which if given their freedom would wreak havoc, but the system of the universe diverts their course to the rivers and the seas. On the contrary, when man experiences such tempests in the form of negative feelings, he does not divert them to a positive course. Man wants others to suffer on his behalf.