"Listen to all opinions and follow what is best...".

THE MEANINGFULNESS OF LIFE

By: Kassim Ahmad
This is a daunting subject I am choosing to discuss. Most writers
today would consider it an irrelevant topic. Mankind has asked this
question of the meaning of life since the beginning of his existence
on earth. Religions, arts, and philosophies testify to mans quest
for meaning. Yet are we any nearer to solving the mystery than
those ancient theologians, artists and philosophers in the Middle
East, Greece, India, Persia and China? It does not seem so. On
the contrary, going by the present state of chaos in the world, we
are as far away from getting an answer to lifes mystery as we can
be. We have to keep trying until we come nearer to its
understanding.
Alija Ali Izetbegovic, now president of Bosnia-Herzergovina, in his
profound book1 reminds us that Islam is the middle way between
asceticism (religion in the narrow sense of the term) and
materialism. Islam is a harmonious blending of the spirit and
matter. It does not reject the world, as mysticism does, nor does it
reject the spirit, as the materialist does. He writes:
There are three integral views of the world: the
religious, the materialistic, and the Islamic.
They reflect three elemental possibilities -conscience, nature, and man, each of them
manifesting itself as Christianity, Materialism
and Islam. All variety of ideologies,
philosophies and teachings from the oldest
time up to now can be reduced to one of these
three basic world views. The first takes as its
starting point the existence of the spirit, the
second the existence of matter, and the third
the simultaneous existence of spirit and matter.
If only matter exists, materialism would be the
only consequent philosophy. On the contrary, if
the spirit exists, then man also exists, and
mans life would be senseless without a kind of
religion and morality. Islam is the name for the

unity of spirit and matter; the highest form of

which is man himself. The human life is
complete only if it includes both the physical
and the spiritual desires of the human being.
All mans failures are either because of the
religious denial of mans biological needs or
the materialistic denial of mans spiritual
desires. 2
The materialist concept, by rejecting the spirit, denies an important
aspect of life and hence distorts it. Thus, a social system based on
the materialist philosophy, like communism, is bound to deny
morality, creativity and freedom since these belong to the realm of
the spirit. This philosophy carries its own death warrant, and the
collapse of the communist system testifies to this fact. Capitalist
liberalism is no less materialistic than communism. In fact, they are
twins, born of the same materialist philosophical parentage.
However, since Western liberalism has been tempered with social
responsibility of the state, (a legacy of the American Revolution), it
was able to prolong its life. In spite of this, unfettered individualism,
which is the essence of liberalism, will inevitably lead it to its
destruction. The present period in history seems to be the death
throes of liberalism. We are seeing the last gasps of a philosophy
destined to collapse.3
The collapse of Marxism and liberalism, however, is not due to any
cycle of life and death of any society or civilization, as propounded
by Ibn Khaldun 4 and Arnold Toynbee.5 Both postulated and
described the cycle of birth, development and degeneration of
societies and civilizations. The birth and development are due to
the creative spirit embedded in that society; the degeneration and
death to the loss of that creative spirit. Liberalism and Marxism are
two universal materialist philosophies of the modern era, and their
collapse is now complete and final due to their inherent error. It is
not due to mismanagement or fatigue. Therefore, there is no such
thing as a revival of liberalism or communism, except in the sense
of a temporary backward step in history in the absence of a better
alternative. When the Quran states a term for every nation, 6 it is
referring to the first phenomenon of historical cycles. The second
phenomenon refers to an error of philosophical conception.
What is life, then? What is the purpose of our being here? Denying
the spirit, the materialist does not believe in any purpose. One
modern materialist philosopher, Bertrand Russell, describes this

meaninglessness poignantly and almost poetically:

Such, in outline, but even more purposeless,
more void of meaning, is the world in which
science presents for our belief. Amid such a
world, if anywhere, our ideals henceforward
must find a home. That Man is the product of
causes which had no prevision of the need
they were achieving; that his origin, his
growth, his hopes and fears, his loves and
his beliefs, are but the outcome of accidental
collocations of atoms; that no fire, no
heroism, no intensity of the labours of the
ages, all the devotion, all the aspiration, all
the noonday brightness of human genius are
destined to extinction in the vast death of the
solar system, and that the whole temple of
Mans achievement must inevitably be buried
beneath the debris of a universe in ruins -- all
these things, if not quite beyond dispute, are
yet so nearly certain, that no philosophy
which rejects them can hope to stand. Only
within the scaffolding of those truths, only on
the firm foundation of unyielding despair, can
the souls habitation henceforth be built 7
On the other hand, Islam teaches the purposefulness of
life. In one of its clearest statements, the Quran declares:
We did not create the heavens and the earth
and everything between them just to play. If
We needed entertainment, We could have
initiated it without any of these, if that is what
We wanted to do. Instead, it is Our plan to
support the truth against falsehood in order
to defeat it. 8
Thus, the whole universe has been created by God in accordance
with the laws of truth in such a way that all falsehoods that
temporarily pervade life will be ultimately exposed and defeated.
Man, therefore, has a moral duty to fight against evil and falsehood
in order to establish the good and the truth 9 in accordance with
the divine plan to establish the truth. Studying the entire history of
mankind, we can see the evolution of human society, definitely
progressing, if at most times all too slowly, sometimes regressing,

yet definitely moving forward from stage to stage: from primitive

society to civilized society, localized in the beginning and leading
to the formation of an international scientific-technologically-based
society in the 20th century. The philosophies guiding these stages
are the same: materialist, ascetic and Islamic. When the Islamic
philosophical element is predominant or strong, the evolution is
fast; otherwise it is slow and society may even regress. 10
It is often complained by non-believers and sceptics that a
suffering human being or child did not ask to be born: why then did
God create him and put him into this suffering? To answer this
question, one has first to define the concept of suffering. Two
types of suffering have first to be identified, that is physical and
spiritual suffering. Being materially poor, one may suffer from
material deprivation like hunger or lack of other material goods.
Yet spiritual deprivation, a feeling of loneliness, aimlessness,
hopelessness and despair is surely more painful. A spiritually
strong person not only will not suffer spiritually; he also may not
suffer materially, because being spiritually strong, he is resourceful
enough to earn his living. A spiritually strong society will also be
able to look after its deficient children, like the poor and the
physically-handicapped. So the question of suffering really does
not arise.
As to mans consent to come into this world, no man refuses to
benefit from the joys of this world, like wealth, position, power,
love, friendship, reading, food, conversation, music, literature,
family life and so on. Although some extremely spiritual men, like
Buddha and Jesus Christ, may forgo some of these pleasures,
most of them do not; neither is it normal for human beings to do
so. Therefore, we can conclude that symbolically man agrees to be
born into this world and is pleased to be in it, although under
certain conditions some of his kind would commit suicide.
This brings us face to face with the question of mans mortality or
immortality. If a mans life ends with his death, then life is
meaningless. On the one hand, man propagates himself
physically, intellectually, morally and spiritually. His children and
grand-children not only continue his physical life but also
intellectual, moral and spiritual live. There is continuity throughout.
On the other hand, death only takes away the physical man; his
spirit does not die with him, because spirits belong to the realm of
the divine. 11 According to the Quran, this spirit will get
resurrected in another world on the Day of Judgement. This spirit

will get a new body and continue the mans journey of life. 12 This
will continue until Gods plan of separating truth from falsehood
and making the truth prevail is fully realized.
Since man dies on this earth and will be resurrected on this earth
13 and since Heaven is as wide as the universe 14, it can be
postulated that in the coming decades, three more decades at
most, man will live on other planets and in outer space. As
changes on earth was made with mans participation, so we can
expect that future changes, including the Final Judgement, will be
made with mans participation. 15
Thus, it seems clear that we cannot take life to mean our brief
earthly life. This earthly life, important as it is, is simply a stage in a
mans long journey to ascend to towards his Maker, and to share
in His perfection and freedom. The earthly life is an important
prepatory period for the coming stages of his almost immortal life.
16
At this point, it is pertinent to raise the question of time and space.
Civilization, as far as we know, is about five thousand years old,
and man about a million years. Is this flow of time fixed? Could it
have happened faster? If it could, what are the determining
factors? Since Einstein and Heisenberg, physics has answered for
us that both time and space are not fixed or static; they are relative
and elastic. 17 The Quran has also revealed to us this fact a long
time ago. 18 So, mankind could have progressed in an all-round
way in a much shorter time and with much less pain and suffering
than it has taken. The conditions are that man must exert himself ,
first morally and spiritually and, of course, also mentally and
physically to make the world safe and better for himself. The whole
universe has been created for him. 19 The earth and the whole
universe is both a test of his fidelity to God as well a battle-ground
for the realization of his fullest potential as Gods vicegerent. 20
Let us have a brief practical look at time and space. We know of
the slow development of transportation from intiquity to very recent
times. First, we moved on our bare legs and carried things on
poles; then we harnessed the domasticated animals, like horses,
camels and dogs, and used slide cars and sleighs; we also
invented the raft; then came a big invention: the wheel and the use
of roads; we also harnessed the wind and invented sailing ships.
All these took us from the beginning up to recent times, that is,
about two hundred years ago. Then from stemships, to engines, to

locomotives and to nuclear-powered ocean-liners and rocketships, it is pretty quick development, only around 150 years. The
next 50 to 100 years will bring yet more astonishing developments.
Man has not only conquered the earth; he has already begun to
conquer space! All these are taking place, of course, in the
Quranic phrase, with Gods leave, that is, in accordance with His
will or His law. 21
From the earliest times, man has puzzled over the question of
freedom and determination. How free and determined are we in
our actions? Coupled with this question is the question of Evil. If
God is all-powerful, why does evil exist? How can an allcompassionate God allow the genocide in Bosnia, for example? Of
course, we cannot entertain the wrong thought of atheists and
disbelievers who think that that is a conclusive argument for the
non-existence of God. But we certainly have to give some
satisfactory explanations for these puzzles.
That man, to some extent, has freedom of action is proved by his
ability to act freely in certain circumstances. For instance, he can
choose his place of residence, his work or profession, his food and
clothes, his life-partner and many other things. But to a great
extent, a man, especially an ordinary man, without influence and
power, cannot prevent wars and diseases and cannot determine
the type of government or politico-economic system that he wants
for his country, however important these matters are to him
personally. However, these thoughts suggest to us two creative
forces that are avilable to him to render him free to decide these
things. They are the combined power of men acting together and
the power of science and technology.
The first creative force that man as an individual has at his
disposal we already know, that is, his mind or intelligence. Using
his mind to combine with other individuals to attain a like purpose
through united actions, or through the fruits of scientific research,
he can attain far greater freedom than if he were to act individually
or by brute force. For instance, the people of the Thirteen
Colonies, acting together, launched the great American Revolution
against the British Empire and created the first modern republic.
Through the use of his mind and scientific research, man
conquered the air and is now able to fly far better than the birds.
Thus, his mind, and through the rational use of his mind to
discover the knowledge of laws of the universe, i.e science -- his
mind and science -- these are the sources of his almost unlimited

power that gives him his freedom. Freedom is, therefore, not static
and not given a priori to man. He has to struggle to achieve
freedom step by step. But, speaking absolutely, man is free.
This does not mean that there is no determination. Freedom and
determination must not be conceived as opposites. All created
things exist in pairs, as the Quran tells us. 22 For man you have
woman; for matter you have spirit; for good you have evil; for tall
you have short; for white you have black. This law applies to all
things. The same goes for freedom and determination. God
created the world according to law; therefore, He knows
everything, including the falling of a leaf. 23 Yet, this law includes
everything, including a mans free action. Take the case of ones
action tomorrow. We cannot have exact knowledge of what we
shall do tomorrow, however much we plan, for we may decide on
doing them as we go to sleep, or early in the morning as we get
up, or even cancel or modify some of them in the early part of the
day, depending on circumstances. But God knows exactly what we
are going to do. Therefore, looking from Gods point of view,
everything has been decided for us (His decision includes allowing
us to do certain things we want to do and not allowing us to do
certain other things, all in His infinite wisdom); but looking from our
point of view, some of our daily actions are completely free.
Such understanding of this question would exclude and reject
fatalism, a bane, it is to be noted, among Muslims after the
collapse the rationalist philosophy of Mutazilism in the third
Muslim century 24 and the emergence of a compromised freedomand-unfreedom doctrine of the Asha`arites. Again this freedom
must not be conceived as chaos. It is lawful freedom, or freedom
within the divine laws of justice, truth and mercy. 25
That evil, with a small `e, exists is only obvious. But to believe in
Evil (with a capital `E) as an equal power rivalling God, as the
Manichans have believed, is an error. God tells us in the Quran
that He did not create men and jins, except to worship Him. 26
Thus the devil, standing for evil in the world, is to serve the
purposes of God., however paradoxical this may sound. It should
be remembered that we said in the beginning that the divine
purpose of the whole creation is to expose falsehood and establish
the truth. How is man to know the truth and the good unless there
exist falsehood and evil to oppose the truth and the good? Thus
are evil and falsehood exposed and defeated.
In the beginning, the whole universe submitted to God, its Creator

and Ruler, but among Gods creations, out of the moral freedom
granted to man, a principle of rebellion arose. Rebellion against
God means evil, symbolized in the person of the rebel or the devil.
This is the source of evil. By negative example, the devil, by his
opposition to the moral man, exposes the immoral man and thus
renders the immoral man impotent. This is the meaning of the
Quranic statement that even the jinns serve God.
Therefore, God is not to blame for the existence, at times even
widespread, of evil in the world. Man is to blame. Wanting freedom
of action, he yet does not use his freedom to fight against evil,
even as he complains when evil touches him. The widespread evil
that we are seeing too obviously in the post-Cold War world (the
horrendous Anglo-American-led aggression against Iraq and its
consequent murderous U.N. embargo against that country, the
British-sponsored Serbian genocide against Bosnia, to mention
just two) is due to mans current state of spiritual blindness and
moral apathy. Even then, in the face of such extremes of cruelty,
the moral man can be said to have stood up and defeated the foe,
both in Iraq and Bosnia. This is proof of ever-recurrent divine
protection for the moral law with which He has constructed the
universe. 27 This gives us the optimism to look ahead and to work
towards the future good of mankind. If we remember well, we
should know that God has given us this assurance when He
related us the story of creation.28
Although we said at the beginning that Izetbegovics book is
profound, it is also frightening in several parts. One concerns the
question of modern pessimism. The author, in spite of being a
committed Muslim, seems a hopeless pessimist (which, however,
is not borne by his courageous and unflinching struggle for
Bosnia). At the end of the book, one finds this astonishing
passage:
Therefore, to properly understand our position in the
world means to submit to God, to find peace,
not to start making a more positive effort to
encompass and to overcome everything, but
rather a negative effort to accept the place
and the time of our birth , the place and the
time that are our destiny and Gods will.
Submission to God is the only human and
dignified way out of the unsolvable
senselessness of life, a way out without

revolt, despair, nihilism or suicide. It is a

heroic feeling not of a hero, but of an
ordinary man who has done his duty and
accepted his destiny.
Islam does not get its name from its laws, orders, or
prohibitions, nor from the efforts of the body
and soul it claims, but from something that
encompasses and surmounts all that: from a
moment of cognition, from the strength of the
soul to face the times, from the readiness to
endure everything that an existence can
offer, from the truth of submission to God. 29
Ironically, the author seems to equate civilization with mans
increasing feeling of hopelessness. He states:
Comfort is the outward, and absurdity is the
inward, image of life in civilization.
Dialectically expressed: the more comfort
and abundance, the more the feeling of
emptiness and despair. On the contrary,
primitive societies can be poor and affected
by sharp social differences, but all that we
know about them indicate a life coloured by
strong and rich feelings. Folklore -- the
literature of primitive society -- can show, in
its specific way, the extraordinary living
vigour of primitive man. The feelings of
disaffection and hopelessness are alien to
that poor society. 30
This is surely a wrong reading of civilization. The great studies of
human societies and civilizations by Ibn Khaldun and A.J. Toynbee
and others following in their footsteps refer to historical cycles of
birth, development and decay. The birth and development is due to
a great explosion of creativity on the part of the society or
civilization and the decay due to that creativitys death. Is there
continuity and development? Recent studies, especially by the
American historical philosopher Sorokin, point to what he calls
multilinear, not unilinear, development.31 That means that human
society and civilization develop, but not along a straight line; it
develops along a line of concentric circles. History repeats itself,
but with a difference -- with a movement upwards.

That is the right way of looking at society and civilization. All

societies and civilizations contain both good and bad ideas and
practices. When the good predominate over the bad, that society
and civilization grow. Once the bad predominate, and no action is
taken by its members to reverse the trend, that society and
civilization is destroyed, and new societies and civilizations are
born to take over from where the old left off. 32 Thus, we see the
old civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt giving birth to Greek,
then to Roman; then the Arabs under Islamic inspiration took over,
inheriting from all the then civilizations, including those of Persia,
India and China. Then modern Europe took over from the Arabs
around the 15th century and carried forward the flag of civilization
to all parts of the world through trade and colonization. In the 20th
century that civilization is facing doom again for having regressed
morally and spiritually, with two world wars already past, and a
new world war looming.
Will the world be destroyed, along with what we call modern
civilization, as Bertrand Russell, has forecast? 33 Under the
present conditions of widespread pessimism and despair, it is easy
to agree with Russell. The good Alija Izetbegovic had come under
the spell of that post-war pessimism before he fought the good
fight for Bosnia-Herzergovina, and, let it be said, for all humanity,
as the brave Iraqis and others who have stood up against the
technological might of the modern-day Goliath. No! Morality and
right reason cannot agree to this forecast of despair. History is our
evidence. If mankind had no other destiny but to be destroyed,
then it should have been destroyed a long time ago. 34 How many
times in history has the fate of man hung in the balance between
continuity and total destruction? The fact that man has survived
the many occurrences of major floods and earthquakes, big storms
and fires, widespread epidemics and diseases in antiquity and
medieval times, when modern science and technology was not yet
at his disposal is evidence enough of the existence of a grand
divine scheme in which his great destiny is placed. Now that man
has greater grasp of natural and historical laws than ever before, it
is less likely that he is targeted for total annihilation.
For that matter, life on earth itself is a miracle, as science has
shown. The possibility of its occurance is so minimal that
explanation of its non-existence is easier than that of its
emergence. 35 Therefore, it is inevitable for us to conclude that
mankind has a destiny beyond and far greater than any human

being or even any human generation can know. It is thus important

that man should understand this and put himself at the service of
this destiny, in other words, at the service of God. 36
Actually, we must understand that there exists two plans for the
world: Gods Grand Design and the devils evil design. Gods
design is to put man in His Paradise, whereas the devils design is
to put him in Hell. These plans weave and intertwine the historical
fabric of mans life in this world. In so far as he puts himself in the
service of God and carrying out Gods design, he succeeds; in so
far as he fails and puts himself at the service of the devil, he
suffers. Mans successes accumulate; his sufferings are
temporary, although often repetitive. Ultimately, Gods Grand
Design will prevail, since the moral nature of the universe and of
man is the fundamental basis of existence, as we have seen. The
role of man, using his freedom, is to realize Gods Grand Design
with as little pain and suffering and in as little time as possible. In a
morally-bound universe, God gives man moral freedom and lets
him decide his own fate.
This fundamental truth is graphically illustrated in the story of
Joseph and his brothers, where his brothers planned some evil for
Joseph, while God had planned good for him. The first part of the
story finds Joseph thrown into dire circumstances, culminating in
his being accused of molesting the beautiful wife of the Egyptian
governor, in whose house he was a trusted servant, and being
wrongfully imprisoned for it. The latter part of the story finds
Joseph freed from imprisonment and honoured in Egypt and
reunited with his old father, Jacob, and his erstwhile jealous but
now-repentant brothers. 37
Here we naturally come to the question of the occurrence of
miracles and of divine revelation. How do we scientifically explain
miracles, miracles being defined as `supernatural events? How do
we explain the Quran and other divine books? Is the Quran
Muhammads composition, as some Westsern orientalists assert?
If not, was Muhammad simply a passive recipient of the message?
Does God intervene in natural processes? If He does, does this
not make a mockery of His own law? What is law? And, finally,
what is God?
All the above questions are no doubt related. We cannot try to
answer some, while ignoring others that seem to us intractable.
But we cannot assert the principles of rationality and science
unless we try to answer them. It seems to us that we must attempt

to answer them to the best of our ability. Let us take the questions
of miracles and divine revelation first.
What we call `natural as opposed to `supernatural is simply what
our cognizance (both sensory and rational) tell us is the order of
things, or what we call the natural order. But our natural order
belongs to a specific category of created beings, i.e. this material
world, with its spatio-temporal dimension. Time and space exist for
us, but it does not exist for God. Even for us, during sleep or
during loss of consciousness, we are not aware of time and space.
Time and space, therefore, are not absolute realities. They only
exist under certain circumstances but do not under certain other
circumstances. Once we grasp this truth, we remove the iron-clad
separation between the two categories of the `natural and the
`supernatural. Thus, when Mosess stick turned into a serpent, it
was a case of the encapsulation of time: the matter, stick (standing
for the vegetable world), turned into the being, serpent (standing
for the animal world which comes into being immediately after
that), without the normal intervening time.
Now, if a stick can turn into a serpent, what is there to stop just
anything from happening? Can your enemy destroy you by just
wishing evil for you? Can you obtain good by just wishing? In other
words, is the world capricious, or is it lawful? This is a basic
question. Man has had to answer this question right from the start.
For to live, and go on living, the first human beings, as do all
human beings, must believe that living is worthwhile. This belief, in
a way, is not based on reason. It is based on an instinctive feeling,
the feeling that the world is good, and behind the good world is a
good and loving Creator. This basic feeling in a human being is
natural to him. 38 This is the basis of the right religion of man, as
this verse states:
Therefore, you shall devote yourselves to
the religion of strict monotheism. Such is
the natural instinct placed in the people by
God. Such creation of God will never
change. This is the perfect religion, but
most people do not know. 39
Thus, although there is no absolute barrier between the natural
and the supernatural, the universe is not capricious, but lawful,
created and ruled by a lawful, rational, good and compassionate
God. Therefore, the existence of evil in the world is both contingent
and temporary. It is contingent upon mans rebellion against God,

and temporary upon mans struggle against evil. Once man stops
rebelling against God and fights against evil, mans victory over
evil is assured and complete. When this condition is achieved, the
Hereafter comes into being with its Paradise (Gods Kingdom) and
its Hell (the state of exile from Gods Kingdom).
The phenomena of revelation cannot be explained except in the
context of a rational and moral universe. Neither can the prophetmessengers, among whom number the greats among them -Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad -- be conceived as
passive recipients of the revelations. Because God is
Compassionate, He continuously sends messages to human
communities from the earliest times to guide them. 40 Obviously,
He must choose His message-bearers from among the morallycommited individuals of each community. Muhammad, whose lifehistory we know, is a good example of a morally-committed
individual chosen to carry His final message to mankind. Thus,
Muhammads moral and intellectual qualities rendered him suitable
to receive the great message.
That does not mean, however, that with Muhammad, God stopped
communicating with human beings. Such a belief would severely
restrict Gods overwhelming attribute of mercy. 41 The Quran tells
us in no uncertain terms that Muhammad was the last propohet. 42
That simply means that the era of prophethood, beginning with
Adam, representing the earliest human communities, came to an
end with Muhammad, as mankind enters the international stage
and the true Age of Science, when prophets are no longer
required. 43 This does not mean that at that point God stops
communicating with man. 44 We are told that God is ever active
and all the time intervening in the affairs of the world. 45 Only now
man, having reached the stage of spiritual adulthood, has to rely
more on his mind and science to continue his journey. However,
he has Gods final scripture, the Grand Quran, with him to guide
him on his onward journey. 46
There has been a notion that man, using his mind alone, can arrive
at a correct understanding of universal laws, implying that Gods
guidance is not necessary. 47 The facts, however, have not borne
this out. It is now generally agreed that the 18th century so-called
Age of Reason has been a failure. It had not realized the high
hopes that it engendered. Rather it culminated in colonialism, wars
of colonialism and peaked in the 20th centurys two terrible world
wars of imperialism. The closing decades of the 20th century, in

fact, witnessed a renewed interest in religion, precisely because of

the spiritual and moral failures of modern Western civilization.
Reason is actually a double-edged weapon. Is it the reason of the
mind, or the reason of the body? The philosophers of the so-called
European Enlightenment, notably Adam Smith, Thomas Hobbes,
John Locke and Thomas Malthus understood and analysed it as
the reason of the body. Others, like Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz,
Kant and Hegel concieved it as the reason of the mind. However,
the former interpretation carried the day and landed Europe, and
the world with it, in the clutches of its own evil works.
At this jucture, we should perhaps examine the phenomenon of
what is called divine punishment. Punishment must, of course, be
paired with reward. One cannot exist without the other. Since this
world is part of a rational, lawful and moral universe, we can be
certain that good works will be rewarded and evil works punished
fully in this life as well as in the Hereafter (which stand for our
infinite future life). We know that human laws are not always just
and that criminals are not always apprehended and adequately
punished in this world. Conversely, in this world, good works are
not always, nor adequately, rewarded. Therefore, it only stands to
reason to expect that both the rewards and punishments will be
fully executed in the Hereafter. 48
This far is clear. But what about the so-called natural disasters,
like earthquakes, storms, floods, fires, epidemics and diseases,
which, in total, have claimed many thousands, even millions, of
human lives, including those of the innocent? What about the
wars, especially the two world wars? Even as we pose the
question, the answer seems to emerge. The answer is: human
failure to act morally and to act in obedience to God. 49

Notes
1 Islam Between East and West, American Trust Publication,

Indianapolis, U.S.A. 1984.

2 Ibid., p.1.

3 The liberal truimphalism announced by Francis Fukuyama after

the collapse of communism in 1989 is obviously illusory. The

system is being kept alive largely through usury and the moral
apathy of Western societies. See his book, The End of History and
the Last Man, Penguin Books, New York, 1992.
4 The Muqaddimah, 3 vol., 1958 (trans. by F. Rosenthal).
5 A Study of History, 10 vol., 1934, 1939 & 1954. Abridged edition

made by D.C. Somervell, 1960.

6 For each community, there is a predetermined life span. Once

their interim comes to an end, they cannot delay it by one hour, nor
advance it. (Quran, Al-Araf: 34) This occurs when a community,
after going through the stages of growth and prosperity, forgets the
moral law and abandons itself to decadence, as often happens.
7 Bertrand Russell, Mysticism and Logic, Allen and Unwin, London,

1910; p. 41.

8 Al-Anbiya: 16-18.
9 The human being is utterly lost, except those who lead a

righteous life, exhort one another to uphold the truth, and exhort
one another to be steadfast. (Al-`Asr: 2-3)

10 The One Who created death and life for the purpose of

distinguishing those among you who would do better. (Quran, AlMulk: 2)

11 Mans distinction from the other orders of created beings is his

possession of the divine spark of creative reason within him. For

this reason he is superior to all other beings, including the angels.
Your Lord said to the angels, `I am creating a human being from
aged mud, like the potters clay. Once I perfect him and blow into
him from My spirit, you shall prostrate before him. (Quran, Al-Hijr:
28-29) Of all created beings, only man has this divine spirit in him.

Thus he is Gods vicegerent, and the whole of creation, including

the angels, are commanded by God to serve him.
12 On that day, We shall fold the heavens like the folding of a

book. Just as We initiated the first creation, We shall repeat it. This
is Our promise; We shall certainly carry it out. (Quran, Al-Anbiya:
104)
13 He said, `On it you will live, on it you will die, and from it you

will be brought out. (Quran, Al-Araf: 25)

14 You should eagerly race towards forgiveness from your Lord,

and a Paradise whose width encompasses the heavens and the

earth; it awaits the righteous. (Quran, Ali-Imran: 133)
15 Mans participation in the divine creative work of perfecting the

world can be deduced from the Quranic concept of mans

vicegerency on earth as well its concept of the divine subjection of
universal forces to mans purpose. (See notes 11 and 19.) Mans
self-judgement on Resurrection Day is indicated in such verses as
this: We have recorded the fate of every human being; it is tied to
his neck. On the Day of Resurrection, We shall hand him a record
that is accesible. Read your own record. Today you suffice as your
own reckoner. (Bani Israil: 13-14)
16 O man! You are toiling towards your Lord, and you will meet

Him. (Quran, Al-Inshiqaq: 6) This verse, coupled with other verses

speaking of mans journey of life, indicates his evolution.
17 The principle if indeterminacy seems to introduce a new kind of

incalculability into nature. The uncertainties hitherto decribed might

possibly be due to ignorance, and might pass into determinism
again as knowledge increase. It is dangerous to build on them a
philosophy of free-will. But ... the work of Schrodinger and Bohr
indicates that there is an uncertainty in the nature of things. The
alternative uncertainties that, if we try to calculate the position of
an electron, its velocity become incalculable, and if we wish to
determine its velocity its position becomes indeterminate, have
been thought by some to indicate that, in the ultimate analysis, the
scientific argument for determinism breaks down. But others hold
that this indeterminacy merely expresses the inadequacy of our
system of measurements to deal with problems outside the realm
of physics. (W.C. Dampier, A History of Science, Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge, 1968; pp. 480-81)

18 The following verses show the relativity of time and space.

They challenge you to bring retribution, and God neever breaks

His promise. A day of your Lord is like a thousand of your years.
(Al-Hajj: 47) The angels and the inspiration ascend to Him in a
day that equals fifty thousand years. (Al-Marij: 4) Our commands
are done within the blink of an eye. (Al-Rahman: 50)
19 Do you not see that God has committed in your service

everything in the heavens and the earth, and has showered you
with His blessings, obvious and hidden? Yet, some people argue
about God without knowledge, guidance and an enlightening
scripture. (Luqman: 20)
20 We have decreed death for you. Nothing can stop Us from

changing your attributes and transforming you into something you

do not know. (Al-Waqi`ah: 60-61)
21 Who can intercede with Him, except in accordance with His

will? (Al-Baqarah: 255)

22 Glory be to the One Who created pairs of everything from the

earth and from themselves as well as other things they do not

even know. (Ya Sin: 36)
23 With Him are the keys to all secrets; none knows them except

He. He knows everything on land and in the sea. Not a leaf falls
without His knowledge. Nor is there a grain in the depth of the soil,
be it wet or dry, that is not recorded in a clear book. (Al-An`am:
59) There is nothing in the heavens and the earth that is absent.
Everything is in a profound record. (Al-Naml: 75) Everything We
created is precisely measured. (Al-Qamar: 49)

24 The Mutazilites, the rationalists of early Islam, upheld mans

freedom of action, and hence his responsibilty, and rejected

fatalism of the later Asha`arites. Due the peculiar circumstances of
that time, they lost their case to the so-called orthodox party, the
Asha`arites, in the fourth and fifth centuries of Islam. However, the
rationalist trend continued, through philosophers, thinkers and
reformers in all Muslim countries, like Ibn Khaldun, Shah Waliullah,
Muhamad Abduh, Muhammad Iqbal, Malek Bennabi, Ali Shari`ati,
just to mention a few, up to the present time. (See Kassim Ahmad,
Teori Sosial Moden Islam, Penerbit Fajar Bakti, Petaling Jaya,
Malaysia, 1984; pp. 85-88.)

25 Justice, truth and mercy as the bases of Gods laws are stated

in many Quranic verses. We give some here. Say, `My Lord

advocates justice, and to stand devoted to Him at every place of
worship. You shall devote your worship absolutely to Him alone.
Just as He initiated you, you will ultimately go back to Him. (AlAraf: 29) It was Gods will to establish the truth with His words
and to punish the disbelievers so as to make the truth prevail and
falsehood vanish, despite the disbelievers. Al-Anfal: 7-8) He has
ordained mercy on Himself. (Al-An`am: 12)
26 I did not create the jins and the humans except to worship Me

alone. (Al-Dariyah: 56)

27 Imploring Him is everyone in the heavens and the earth.

Everyday He is in full control. (Al-Rahman: 29) His dominian

encompasses the heavens and the earth, and ruling them never
burdens Him. (Al-Baqarah: 255). So the pessimists complaint that
God is absent from the world should be turned against the
passivity of men who expect good to come to them without their
exertion to attain it.
28 28. In Al-Baqarah, verses 30-33 inform us of the great future in
store for men, in spite of their weaknesses.
29 Izetbegovic, Op.cit., p. 226.
30 Ibid., pp. 59-60.
31 See P.A. Sorokin, Modern Historical and Social Philosophies,

pp. 291-92.
32 This historical law of the carrying forward of good ideas and

practices in human society in stated in the Quran thus: He sends

down water from the sky, causing the valleys to overflow. The
rapids produce abundant foam. Similarly, when they use fire to
refine metals for their jewellery or equipment, foam is produced.
God thus cites analogies for truth and falsehood. As for the foam, it
goes to waste, while that which benefits the people stays close to
the ground. (Al-Ra`ad: 17)
33 See note 7.
34 If God were to punish the people for their transgressions, He

would have annihilated every creature on earth. But He respites

them for a specific predetermined time. Once their interim ends,

they cannot delay it by a single moment, nor can they hasten it.
(Al-Nahl: 61)
35 Many modern biologists who have devoted years of studies to

the phenomenon of life have concluded that life is a miracle. Man

cannot create life. (See A.A. Izetbegovic, Ibid., pp. 22-31.) The
Quran informed us that only God can create life a long time ago:
O people, here is a parable that you must consider carefully: the
idols you call upon besides God can never create a fly, even if they
banded together to do so. Furthermore, if the fly steals anything
from them, they cannot recover it; weak is the pursuer and the
pursued. (Al-Hajj: 73)
36 The whole complete life of man is to be devoted to God alone is
succintly summed up in this verse: Say, My prayers, my worship,
my life and my death all belong to God, Lord of the universe. He
has no partner. This is what I am commanded to believe and I am
the first to submit. (Al-An`am: 162-63)
37 Quran, Yusuf: 4-102.
38 Recall that your Lord summoned all the descendents of Adam
and had them bear witnees for themselves: `Am I not your Lord?
They all said, `Yes. We bear witness. Thus, you cannot say on the
Day of Resurrection, `We were not aware of this. Nor can you say,
`It was our parents who practised idolatory, and we simply followed
in their footsteps. Will you punish us for the sins of innovators?
We thus explain the revelations to enable them to return. (Al-Araf:
172-74)
39 Al-Rum: 30
40 To every community, a messenger. Once their messenger
comes, they are judged equitably without the least injustice.
(Yunus: 47)
41 He said, `My retribution is incurred by whomever I wish, but My
mercy encompasses all things. (Al-Araf: 156)
42 Muhammad was not the father of any man among you. He was
a messenger of God and the final prophet. (Al-Ahzab: 40)
43 ... the Prophet of Islam seems to stand between the ancient

and the modern world. In so far as the source of his revelation is

concerned, he belongs to the ancient world; in so far as the spirit
of his revelation is concerned, he belongs to the modern world. In
him life discovers other sources of knowledge suitable to its new
direction. The birth of Islam ... is the birth of the inductive intellect.
In Islam prophecy reaches its perfection in descovering the need
of its own abolition ... (The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in
Islam, p. 126)
44 Possessor of high ranks, the Ruler of the whole dominion, He
sends inspiration, bearing His commands, to whomever he
chooses from among His servants, to warn of the Day of
Gathering. (Gahfir: 15)
45 See note 27.
46 In the understanding of the Quran, of course, man needs Gods
guidance. Although, the Quran is the same Quran as that used by
the Prophet and his Companians, its understanding in the modern
context must necessarily differ. This is what is referred to in the
Quran as hikmah or wisdom, i.e. a rational interpretation of its
message. Although classical tafsir has assigned the role of
interpretation to the Prophet, this is not an accurate meaning of the
Quranic texts. An overall understanding would assign God as the
ultimate teacher of the Quran. (See Quran, Al-Rahman: 1-2; AlMudathir: 19 & Al-Ra`ad: 2) Read with other relevant verses, these
would mean that God will expalin the meanings of His message
through people whom He selects from every generation.
47 We refer to the philosophical romance by the Muslim
philosopher Ibn Tufail (1109-1185) where the main character,
Hayy ibn Yaqzan, marooned in an uninhabited island, discovered
God through the sheer use of his reasoning. See The Journey of
the Soul: The Story of Hai bin Yaqzan (trans. Riad Kocache), The
Octagon Press, London, 1982.
48 That is the day when they will be completely exposed; none of
them will hide anything from God. To whom belongs all kingship on
that day? To God, the One, the Supreme. On that day, every soul
will be paid for whatever it earned. There will be no injustice on
that day. God is most efficient in reckoning. (Quran, Ghafir: 1617)

49 Anything good that happens to you is from God, and anything

bad that happens to you is from you. (Quran, Al-Nisa: 79) This
verse should not be understood as meaning that there exist things
outside of Gods creation. Evil is a consequence of mans rebellion
against God, in accordance with His laws. This verse alone throws
abundant light on the occurance of the so-called natural disasters.
Further, consider these: Say, `Who can protect you from the
calamities of the land and the sea? You implore Him loudly as well
as secretly: `If only He saves us this time, we shall indeed be
grateful. Say, `God saves you this time, and other times as well,
then you still set up idols besides Him. Say, `He is able to pour
upon you retribution from above you, or from beneath your feet, or
He can divide you into factions and have you taste each others
tyranny and persecution. Note how We explain the revelations that
they may understand. (Al-An`am: 63-65)