Spirit of Islam · ASK MAULANA

ASK MAULANA

Spirit of Islam, Nov 2020, p. 50

By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

Maulana Wahiduddin Khan is named as the default author of the periodical; a piece that carries another writer’s byline is credited to that writer.

possible. When something is said to have been proved scientifically, this statement only means that its probability has been established. And, from the scientific viewpoint, we cannot refuse to apply to the case of the world Hereafter a method that we hold valid in most scientific matters. As we know, the steps to a scientific enquiry include— hypothesis, observation and verification. If we apply this three-point formula to the world Hereafter, we can certainly arrive at an understanding of its probability. And as we know, in the field of science, probability paves the way for certainty. Can man fulfill all his desires? A careful study of the human society shows that all men and women have two contradictory themes running throughout their lives. On the one hand, they are consumed by a limitless desire to establish a dream world for themselves—a world that is in keeping with their ideals and where they may lead their lives—with all the sought-after pleasures and comforts. But, on the other hand, they are faced with this contradiction that, despite surrounding themselves with all the material things conceivable, they fail to build their desired world. Boredom, loss, illness, accident, the infirmities of old age and finally death—within a period of around a 100 years or less—that is the story of every individual born into this world. The following example is an apt illustration of the same. Billy Graham, a well-known American missionary, writes that he once received an urgent message from an American billionaire who wanted to meet him without a moment’s delay. On receiving this message, Billy Graham cancelled all his other appointments and immediately set out to meet this man. When he arrived at the billionaire’s palatial home, he was immediately taken to a private room, where the two men sat on chairs facing one another. Then, with great seriousness, the billionaire said to Billy Graham, “You see, I am an old man and life has lost all meaning for me. I am going to take a fateful leap into the unknown...Young man can you give me a ray of hope?” The American billionaire is not the only person to be faced with this kind of desperation. Every individual, born into this world, is faced with this question at one time or another. Therefore, fulfillment of all desires in this world is not possible at all. It goes against the creation plan of God. o

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