ISLAM AND THE MODERN MAN - PART II

Yet if one of them were to take the initiative in admitting its mistakes, the state of affairs would change drastically. That prestige issue would now turn into an issue of balance. Now, with the admission of a mistake by one group, the other group, in admitting its errors would not be eating humble pie but simply following what the other group has already done. That is to say, such an admission by one of the group could induce its rival to adopt a balanced approach. Such realism, the mainspring of a reformed life, is attainable only through sincere worship of God, self-effacement before His greatness and avowal of one’s own insignificance and lack of perfection. This realism is the mark of the true believer—one who believes in God when God in fact is not visible before us—how could a person of such faith and practice deign to indulge in matters of worldly prestige? The system of nature follows the principle of balance. One of the strategies resorted to by nature to maintain this balance is diversion, or the redistribution of excessive amounts of force or energy. For instance, if all the water that comes down to earth in the form of rain were stored in the fields and settlements, an immeasurable strain would be placed on the environment. What nature does in this case is divert all the spare accumulated water to the rivers and seas. It is this principle of diversion, which has been followed in the building of dams. Designed mainly for storage purposes, dams have a regulatory role in the environment, controlling floodwaters and diverting them to useful ends such as irrigation and the production of electricity. The same principle is followed in machines, like the steam engine. When the quantity of stream exceeds the required amount and too much pressure builds up, the steam is in a sense diverted by being allowed to escape through a safety valve. In social life, there is a somewhat similar build-up of stresses and strains. When a number of people live together, it is but natural for complaints and grudges to surface between them. If these negative sentiments are allowed to escalate, discord and enmity are bound to develop. When that stage is reached, it becomes almost impossible to reform a human group or society. The feeling of responsibility is always produced when man is aware of a power above him, which can take him to task.