Glory be to Almighty Allah, the creator, who trained His slaves with the revelations he sent down. Peace and blessings of Allah (SWT) be on the Messenger who conveyed the revelations to us and lived according to the guidance of this revelation. Peace and blessings of Allah be on the Messenger and all brothers and sisters who are striving to build a civilization that is in line with the divine revelations.
Life on earth began with a prophet. Right from the beginning, Allah did not allow humans to roam the earth unguided but rather sent down revelations to guide them. In the Holy Qur’an Allah said, “Does the human think he will be left to roam at will”1? This is because human beings are created with dignity and sent down to earth as caliphs of Allah (SWT). Humans were therefore assigned the most important duties. In order to guide humans to setup a world that will be pleasing to Allah (SWT) He found it worthwhile sending down a “User Manual” and He sent it. Sending a scripture by Allah (SWT) to mankind should not be surprising. We should rather be surprised if Allah (SWT) had not sent down a scripture to guide us. In the Holy Qur’an Allah (SWT) said “And for every nation there is a messenger”2. From the following verse of the Holy Qur’an “We never destroyed any habitation but that it had warners to admonish them. We have never been unjust”3 , it becomes obvious that human beings will not be able to find the right path without revelations. If logic was enough for humans to find the right path, destruction of generations would have been permissible without a messenger being sent.
Throughout history, generations had always objected to the fact that prophets and scriptures had been sent as guide to mankind simply because, these people want to live freely according to their will. There were times when they proclaimed that prophets must be in the form of angels. At other times, they also made problems out of the fact that the prophets go to the shops and bazaars to cover their needs. As a result, they rejected the truth. The question that should be asked is; How can a prophet be an example to his contemporaries without being a human himself? This very people would have complained, had the prophet been sent to them in the form of an angel. They would have buttressed their argument by saying that “how can we be like the prophet when we have desire and he doesn’t have one, and moreover the devil is not capable of pestering him”? Fact is that they don’t want to venture changing their life style. They are also conscious of the difficulties associated with living according to the revelations. But Allah (SWT) doesn’t want His servants to face hardship. Allah (SWT) therefore said in the Holy Qur’an “Allah wants ease for you and does not want hardship for you.”4
Living according to the revelation is only not the right and more civilized way, but it is also an easier way of life. The committed sins are normally accompanied with difficulties. Consequently, life that is full of sins is indeed a difficult life. Obligatory duties look difficult at the onset, but they actually make life easier by preventing people from indulging in evil acts. The assumptions that obligatory duties are difficult and illicit acts are easier and enjoyable are not true. To the contrary, illicit acts are difficult and nasty but obligatory acts are easier and good. How can a human being become civilized without the existence of obligatory and illicit acts?
Humans usually subject themselves to certain principles throughout their life time. This prevents them from doing certain things and compels them to do other things. Instead of laying down these principles with the guidance of their desires and the effects of their environment. Wouldn’t it had been more logical if they had taken these principles from someone with mercy and infinite knowledge? Those who did not abide by the principles of revelations and attempted to setup principles by following logic had only succeed in raising societies with questionable character in the past and today.
For instance, ancient Greeks and Romans used to take pleasure at throwing people especially slaves into the arenas for them to be killed by wild animals. They at times burn these people alive for the sake of pleasure. Even the Roman and Greek lawyers and philosophers see these barbaric acts as normal. Philosophers like Plato and Aristo see it to be normal for a woman to have an abortion. The ancient Greeks and Romans also agree that fathers have the right to kill their own children. According to some Greek philosophers committing suicide is praiseworthy. Those who pay allegiance to these beliefs used to commit suicide collectively. Even Plato doesn’t consider committing suicide to be a bad thing. A man killing his own wife was seen just like a man killing his pet to them. The law system of ancient Greece doesn’t provide for a punishment against committed crimes. In India, it was considered to be a merit for someone to push a woman into the very fire that was being used to cremate her departed husband. There was nothing wrong with those in the upper tier of the society shedding the blood of those in the lower tier. In the jalparva tradition of India, parents throw their first-born babies into river Ganges that they consider to be sacred. There is no god without a wife and there is no goddess without a husband. The gods and the goddesses eat and drink just like normal human beings. Most polytheist also believe that God has transformed himself into a human figure. Alongside the belief in trinity Christians also believe that God has both mother and mother in law. The God of the Jews took up a human form and wrestled with Jacob, and it is believed that this God had a son as well.
The polytheist Arabs are not much different from the others, among other things, they worship idols, eat dead animals, indulge in illicit sex, devour each other’s property unlawfully, bury their girl-child alive and circumambulate Kaaba naked.
According to western philosophers, “ancient people were behaving in an ignorant manner because they had not advanced in science. Religion was therefore necessary for them. To the contrary we had advanced in science and therefore we don’t need religion. Science will guide us to the right path not religion. God is dead, and we had killed him”. The trend of the world today doesn’t paint a bright future. Level of education has increased, and the size of police force had increased as well yet, injustice, immorality, murder, terrorism, drugs, prostitution, quest for material things, betrayal, exploitation, lawless and cruel wars, orphans, atomic and hydrogen bombs capable of destroying the whole world over, divorce rates, broken homes, number of people indulging in sex at early ages that compel them to get an abortion are on the increase. While people are starving to death at one side of the globe, others are in eating frenzy at the other side. Other social vices like homosexuality, feminized men, masculinized women are also on the rise.
Can’t humans understand that they can use science and technology to go to space but cannot use science to become civilized? The role of science is to make life easier for human beings. Science cannot make mankind civilised. Human beings cannot become civilized without revelations and cannot bring about any civilisation compatible to humans. The earth has never been subjected to attack by natural causes or animals. Mischief started spreading only when humans lost their identities. The stronger ones turned themselves into gods and the weaker ones became their slaves. This made these two groups to go out of the realm of humanity.
The holy Qur’an is full of examples of generations that were destroyed for not abiding by the revelations. Much as this punishment is in the form of flood or earthquake, it also comes in the form of worrisome and inhumane societies similar to those found in our days. Why do people believe in what the meteorology said but not believe in what Allah (SWT) said about the causes of destruction of previous generations? Those who don’t believe in revelations will not be able to see what is happening in the world today.
Those who don’t have correct knowledge about humans and universe cannot put forward principles of civilisations. Human beings need a message from someone who knows the innate qualities of humans. There existed several civilisations that did away with the happiness of its nations, there existed another form of civilisations that took the security and peace of its nations to the summit.
In his book entitled “Man, the Unknown” Alexis Carrel said that “Mechanics, chemistry, and physics have progressed much more rapidly than physiology, psychology, and sociology. Man has gained the mastery of the material world before knowing himself. Thus, modern society has been built at random, according to the chance of scientific discoveries and to the fancy of ideologies, without regard for the laws of our body and soul. We have been the victims of a disastrous illusion–the illusion of our ability to emancipate ourselves from natural laws. We have forgotten that nature never forgives”. He went further to confess that, the civilisations that were brought into being without knowing humans is actually harming humans. It is obvious that, the best way of getting to know much about a product is by consulting its manufacturer. If humans want to know much about themselves, they had to refer to Allah’s book.
Discovering and controlling matter is easier, consequently Allah (SWT) entrusted this task into our hands. With the assistance mathematics, chemistry, medicine and positive sciences man was able to accomplish this task. Guiding mankind to the right path is the sole responsibility of Allah (SWT). This is because knowing humans is more difficult (if not impossible) than knowing material things. As a result, the Holy Qur’an said “Indeed, [incumbent] upon Us is guidance”5. “And upon Allah is the direction of the [right] way”6, to tell us that designation of the right path is not the responsibility of mankind. Mankind is rather supposed to follow the path that has been designated for him. But man; exceeds his limits by trying to designate the right path himself. Allah (SWT) created humans as His caliphs on earth, but humans wanted to be divinity instead of caliphs. This verse from the Holy Qur’an said “Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood”7, to remind mankind of the main constituents of his body and to make him refrain from exceeding his limits. But mankind forgets about this truth and assumes that he doesn’t need revelations or advice. “Because he sees himself self-sufficient. Indeed, to your Lord is the return”8.
“Our Lord; and send among them a messenger from themselves who will recite to them Your verses and teach them the Book and wisdom and purify them. Indeed, You are the Exalted in Might, the Wise”9 is the prayers of Prophet Abraham together with his son Ismael. They did not ask for just one thing, they also wanted to preach to people on the need for revelations. That is because logic doesn’t usually let people achieve righteousness. And when they do achieve it they fail to obey it. This is because the human desire, ego is under the influence of the devil. We can break away from the three gravitational forces pulling us down only with the aid of The book and the messenger of Allah (SWT). It is not possible to rise spiritually without the divine message. The holy Qur’an educates people and bring them from the lowest spiritual level to the top of spiritual maturity.
To talk about the hereafter and the unseen (ghaib) without reference to the revelation will be nothing but a wild guess. The best our logic can give us is the acceptance and the necessity of the hereafter but cannot prove to us the reality of life in the hereafter. Consequently, subjects related to the ghaib can only be understood by referring to the sacred sources.
Man is in need of a book and civilisation criteria that is compatible to all lands and people. Otherwise each and every land will come out with a different civilisation and conflict between civilisation will be inevitable. The only way of getting rid of conflicts of civilisations is by establishing one single civilisation for the whole world. This can only be achieved when all civilisations take their principles from one source and that source is certainly Allah (SWT).
Allah (SWT) wants to bring humans closer to Himself and exalts them through the Holy Qur’an. The spiritual and physical needs of humans can only be satisfied by the Holy Qur’an. He teaches humans servitude and deep love (muhabetullah) for Allah. How could it be possible for one to get closer to Allah without the message. Aren’t there people out there who are moving away from Allah (SWT) with flimsy excuses despite the availability of the message? Furthermore, how could Allah (SWT) have communicated to us the type of people and civilisation He wants on earth without sending us the book and the prophet? How could we know what Allah wants from us on this earth? Humans need revelations in order to understand what Allah needs from them.
Allah therefore sent His Messenger to us because of the reasons mentioned above and said, “Arise and warn”10 and “O Messenger, announce that which has been revealed to you from your Lord, and if you do not, then you have not conveyed His message. And Allah will protect you from the people”11. I end by glorifying Allah for accepting mankind as interlocutor and honoured us by sending revelations to us.
I entrust you all to the security of Allah.
1- Al-Qiyama, 36
2- Yunus, 47
3- Ash-Shu’ara, 208-209
4- Al-Baqara, 185
5- Al-Lail, 12
6- An-Nahl, 9
7- Al-Alak, 2
8- Al-Alak, 6-7
9- Al-Baqara, 129
10-Al-Muddathir, 2
11-Maide, 67
