THE WORD OF GOD

Who are the people considered as great? Usually, charismatic leaders occupy this spot of “greats” in the sight of men, who have captured the popular imagination. Such leaders are accorded the adulation that should be accorded to God alone. Faced with an inner vacancy, a yawning gap in his soul that had to be filled, man should have turned to God for replenishment instead of other men. What is the harm of according greatness to humans? Man has been endowed with certain faculties in this world. He has been invested with bodily strength and blessed with intellectual prowess. He has been granted access to wealth, rank, resources and opportunities. All these human faculties are from God. He has given them to man for a purpose: that man should use them to earn something for himself. There are two ways for a man to “earn”. One is that which leads to what the Quran calls being ‘arrogant in the land without justification. However, another form of earning is the opposite of this, which is the earning of humility and graciousness from what one has. In other words, if a person is proud of what he has in this world, he uses it for his self-aggrandizement, which will make it a steppingstone to personal power which gives rise to arrogance leading to oppression of other humans. The other form of earning comes from seeing the resources he has been endowed with as God’s gift. A man sees his helplessness before God and thanks Him for His countless blessings. Instead of using his faculties and resources for personal ends, he devotes them to the service of God which is nothing but benefitting the fellow humans. What is the harm of self-glory? Humans are not perfect beings and have limitations. In such a situation living in a sense of greatness will only come in the way of one’s intellectual development. Man will be under the illusion that he knows it all. This will lead to arrogance. He will not be open to healthy criticism. He will harbour feelings of power over people, not acknowledging the contribution of his fellow beings and failing to be grateful to both man and God. He will live a self-oriented life in which self-interest, personal ambition, greed and lust are the dominating motive forces. One who lives such a life puts all he has into furthering his interests. The other person who recognizes and acknowledges God as great will be a humble person who will live a God-oriented life which acknowledges