Suzanne Haneef, Islam: The Path of God, pages 10–18
THINKING THINGS OVER
where am I going? This society? The whole human race?” These are questions which many of us today are asking urgently, deeply troubled about what we see happening in our world Our concerns may be quite personal ones, centered around our own particular life situation. They may be general ones, related to the state of things as a whole or both. For this is a strange and difficult time, a time when all the old values and traditions seem to have been cut out from under us without anything clear and definitive having been substituted for them. From every direction and every possible source, we’re being bombarded by the newfangled ideas, values and behaviors of the New Age in which we live.
The New Age is an age with many interesting features. One of these is confusion. Great numbers of us no longer seem to have a clear sense of right and wrong, good and bad. Under the impact of too much personal freedom and the flood of new ideas and values, we’re falling apart, frightened, uncertain, lost. After all, how is it possible to have certainty about anything when even the most basic, time-honored values are being called into question?
In comparison to earlier times, everything around us today seems upside-down and backwards. A great deal of what was previously considered right is now looked upon as outmoded, irrelevant or just plain dumb. At the same time, much of what used to be considered wrong is now accepted as right, normal and okay. Members of the older generation, like myself, still maintain our vision of what things were like in an earlier, simpler, less perplexing period. But when our generation goes, apart from people of strong religious faith, who will be left that still retains a clear vision of a saner, more stable society? That vision will have gone with the winds of change.
This turn-about in basic human values and morals has led to a steady unraveling of civilized standards and behavior, not only in the country but worldwide. Brutality, lust and all manner of other evils flourish around the globe; violence, vice and exploitation seem to have become the new order of the day. And fear hangs over the whole world. Those of us who are even slightly sensitive to the currents and energies around us realize that something is wrong-deeply, awfully wrong. And we carry the collective burden of humanity’s pain and turmoil deep within our hearts.
Day by day the fear and uneasiness increases. Often we sense that we’re at the edge of a terrible and dangerous abyss, surrounded by intense darkness. As the end of this millennium approaches, predictions of a worldwide Armageddon-like catastrophe haunt our minds. And how can it be otherwise when we sense deep within ourselves that things have gone so wrong that such a crisis is due? For each day, new and deeper holes appear in the social and moral fabric of mankind, and it seem obvious that when the holes become more than the fabric itself, it’s past repair.
Why? you may be asking. Why is our society, our world, so terribly disturbed? Why is there so much suffering, misery and evil on earth? Why is everything around us and inside us in such a state of upheaval?
Why are the rates of crime, violence, sexual misbehavior, family breakdown, substance abuse and suicide mounting day by day? Why are there so many problems within my family, among my friends, or in my own life? Why am I so anxious, depressed, stressed-out, uncertain, unable to find any peace of mind?
These are all-important questions. I’ve thrown them out to you, not in order to make you uneasy, but because they’re matters which we urgently need to address. Yet we seem unable (or perhaps unwilling) to put our finger on the cause. Social scientists spend years studying such issues, but even they often fail to understand the primary reason for this troubled state of affairs, much less what can be done about it. Why? One possibility is that in a secular society such as ours, the reason is one that few people want to admit or accept.
Can it be that we’re all suffering because a critical something is missing from our society and world in our time? And is it possible that because of this missing thing, a huge emptiness exists in a great many people’s hearts? Might it be that our attempts to fill this void, although without knowing what it represents, has resulted in our blind race for material solutions, material supports and material satisfactions, without taking into consideration our total human nature and its needs?
Then, we may further ask ourselves, can it be that the race to replace that vital missing element with material goals and goods has warped our spirits and, in turn, our values even more? To take this line of questioning further, is it possible that the drive for material props could be fuelled by an intense spiritual hunger, even starvation, which we try to fill in any way we can?
In my view, the essential thing we’ve lost is religious faith. Together with faith, we’ve also lost the fixed set of values and principles which guided the lives of peoples and civilizations before us, giving them stability, continuity and certainty. The prevailing materialism that’s taken the place of faith has resulted in a misplaced trust in science and technology, which are good servants but bad masters. It’s cheated us and robbed us of a sense of direction, both as individuals and as a society. On a deeper level, it’s also deprived our spirits of the deeper, truer satisfactions they require.
While earlier responsibilities and rights went handin-hand, today freedom rules. This freedom is defined as the right to do what one pleases without accountability as long as it doesn’t “harm” anyone-that is, as long as no criminal or civil codes are violated. But who’s to decide whether a word or an action is harmful to others, or to our own inner selves? Without a strong conscience, firmly grounded in universal principles of right and wrong, it’s easy for us to be cheated by the desires of our egoes, so that whatever we want to do seems all right.
Because of this loss of faith and the moral responsibility which it instills, another catastrophe has occurred: our society’s loss of its clear understanding of the family as a God-ordained institution, to be upheld and supported by every possible means. Sexual enjoyment has become an end in itself, divorced from responsibility. Better methods of”protection” are offered as the solution for the host of problems this attitude has brought upon us, rather than encouraging responsibility for the consequences of our actions.
Our children and their well-being have become the first victims of this loss. Many of us grew up in disrupted families in which we never learned any positive parenting skills. Some of us want to be good parents but are so strapped financially that it’s difficult to be. Others of us have given priority to a better lifestyle or a rewarding career. No matter what the reason, great numbers of our children are growing up without the emotional security, parental love and attention they require to be healthy. And the circle of deprivation continues from one generation to another. As a result, we’ve become increasingly a nation of emotionally crippled, dysfunctional people. Due to no fault of our own, many of us carry hollow spaces inside hearts which should have been filled with love and a sense of well-being from the moment of birth.
Another casualty of our lost sense of responsibility is the moral and spiritual training of our children. From a young age, they’re bombarded by values, morals and examples which conflict sharply with any religious belief, and even with civilized standards. But young people who’ve never been taught morals and values other than material ones have no standards for distinguishing right from wrong or beneficial from harmful. Nor do they have any effective weapons for fighting against their own powerful impulses or the pressures coming from outside.
Science, which many people believe provides answers to all questions, has played a major role in eroding religious belief and traditional values. Many people today question the very existence of God, demanding “proofs,” although strangely enough, we never hear of anyone’s demanding proofs that God does not exist. Others, although believing in His existence, do not grasp His relevance, even to their own personal lives.
Although as a society we may give lip-service to belief in God, this is far removed from having certainty that He is in complete control of all things. According to our current thinking, a vague force called “Mother Nature” (or just “Nature”) is responsible for running the natural world in an orderly, predictable fashion. But when something out of the ordinary occurs, something which we look upon as unpreventable, such as a natural disaster, it’s viewed as an “act of God”-as if God were some sort of an intruder in the smooth, orderly running of the universe.
But without firm belief in a Supreme Being who is continuously involved with His creation, we human beings are spiritually and emotionally empty and deprived. We go through life uncentered, unfixed, and a prey to every wind that blows, without clearly-defined beliefs, values or goals by which to chart our path.
If you grew up with a religion and strong faith, you’re one of the lucky ones. Many of us were never exposed to anything of the sort. Others were brought up with a religion but later outgrew it; we still believe in God but don’t subscribe to any particular faith. Some of us may have looked into various religions without finding any clear direction. Others would like to believe but don’t have any idea in who or what, or even where to look. And still others of us may feel that even if we knew what to believe, we’re beyond all hope of salvation.
Whatever your particular case may be, it is critical for you to know that you were created by an absolutely merciful, loving Lord. He created you because He desired you to come into being, and He honored you by breathing into you something of His Divine Spirit.! No matter who you are or what you may have done, that fact alone gives you worth and importance. And He, your Creator, is asking you to connect with Him.
God is always there for you. He never leaves you; there’s no way you can get rid of Him. All you need to do is reach out to Him. If He doesn’t have any place in your life but you would like Him to, initiate the relationship. Call to Him, ask Him for help and guidance, pour out your heart and your needs to Him, tell Him that you love Him. For without being firmly bonded to our Source, we’re hollow, empty creatures, easily crushed and
destroyed by the difficult conditions surrounding us. Without belief in the purposefulness of our lives, we’re likely to be in despair.
At the same time, you need a way, a path to walk upon to Him, a system for guiding your life. But, if you’re not to be misled, it must be a true and correct one.
Islam, the faith of one-fifth of the world’s people, is one among many ways claiming to be the truth. I’m talking about real Islam, of course, not the biased versions you hear about in the media or the Farrakhan variety, but the genuine, pure faith that goes back to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the early Muslim community.
Islam, meaning “surrender” or “submission”, is the original religion revealed by God from the beginning of human history. He revealed it through the first man, Adam (peace be upon him), who was also the first prophet. Later, He revealed it through Abraham (peace be upon him), the father of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
“ Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was a Monotheist, a Muslim. And he was not of the Polytheists.” (Quran 3:67) God says concerning him.
Still later, He revealed it through Moses (peace be upon him), and afterwards, through Jesus Christ (peace be upon him), the miraculous prophet who came to revive and purify it. And He revealed it for the last and final time through the prophet who established Islam as a world religion, Muhammad of Arabia (peace be upon him), the most perfect of all mankind. And this final revelation contains God’s unchangeable guidance for humanity up to the end of this world.
“I hear what you’re saying,” you may be thinking. “But exactly who’s making the claim that Islam is the truth, and why should I believe it any more than in the claims of any other religion?”
Good questions, which you should be asking. Islam’s answer to the first part of your question is, quite simply,
God Himself. This, and much more, is what He has to say about His final revelation:
o mankind, the truth has come to you from your Lord. Therefore, whoever is guided, is guided only/or his own soul, and whoever is in error errs only against it. (Quran 10:108)
That which is revealed to you [Muhammad] by your Lord is the truth.
(Quran 13:1)
Those who have been given knowledge see that what is revealed to you [Muhammad] from your Lord is the truth and leads to the path of the Almighty, the Praised One. (Quran 34:6)
By the Lord of the heavens and the earth, this is indeed the truth, as [much as the fact that] you are able to speak. (Quran 51:23)
But claims to being the truth are not to be taken lightly. In order to test this claim for yourself, please read on. Gather information, sift and weigh it all in your mind, and come to your own conclusion.
If you do conclude that this religion is the truth, then other conclusions follow: that in Islam’s divine Message lies hope for ourselves as individuals and for mankind as a whole-indeed, perhaps the only hope; that nothing other than this faith that can cure the deep, devastating ailments of humanity; and that, without it, there can be no lasting solutions, no safety, and no way out of the life threatening global crisis of our time.
credit: Suzanne Haneef, Islam: The Path of God, pages 10–18. (PDF)
read pages 7–10
