The Plight of Mankind

Mohammed al-Amrani
Man is a unique and wonderful creature in this universe but he is physically,
mentally and spiritually complex. This complexity calls for the knowledge of a
god, the wisdom of a god and guidance of a god for man to know his position and
his role in this universe. If such guidance is not available, then his entire life and
his entire being will be in constant clash with itself, and all around it. And today
mankind are not in communion with themselves, their fellow men and all around
them and despite ease of life - compared to earlier generations - and in spite of
the massive technological and material advancements, man is not happy and in
constant war with all around him and on the verge of collapse as he has
practically lost the choice to pause and unless God has ordained the destruction
of mankind at large, one hopes that he will pause and listen to the voice of His
gracious Maker, even at the last minute. Though man is infinitesimal and
appears insignificant in this whole universe and his earth is nothing but a dot in a
massive ocean of galaxies, he is of special status in the design of the universe
owing in large to his inborn disposition to seek faith and accept the
responsibilities and consequences of believing or rejecting God's message. Due to
this and to his innate ability for gradual and progressive knowledge, he deserved
God's grace which culminated in sending him messengers and prophets and
vouchsafed to him books to guide him. But it has been centuries since man lived
by the last guidance of the last book, the Qur'an, which was sent for all of
mankind as a whole and Islam has practically vanished from the face of the earth
and in its absence other man-made 'guidance' was invented which man is living
by today. But such man-made systems have no roots and most of them including
communism, socialism, and capitalism, have almost collapsed and millions of
souls were lost.

God is the truth and Islam is His final message to mankind at large sent to bring
them out of the state of confusion, chaos, uncertainties, unhappiness and to make
an end to the corruption of the clergy and the rulers and to end their sufferings
and pain caused in main by godless systems, perceptions, and concepts. It did for
over 1,000 years and despite the deviations from the Islamic principle at some
periods, it remained much better than man-made systems. But unfortunately
and because of many reasons, some have to do with the nature of the faith, and
others with the inherent shortcomings of man, it demised and a new man-made
system assumed the leadership of mankind in the disguise of freedom, liberty,
and science. But obviously it is not working and has failed and will continue to
fail and the period destined for its existence will be a period of mental,
psychological and spiritual anguish for man. Only Islam is capable of rendering
man back into His Maker, but it must be revived from under the debris of

centuries of spurious concepts, dubious perceptions and un-Islamic systems and

governments. And Alhumdillah a revival process is underway and though it is
facing ruthless resistance, onslaught and cruel, despotic, and inhumane
measures, it will eventually prevail. This onslaught is led by the Judeo-Christian
fear and age-seated 'hate' of Islam and unleashed in collaboration with the
established political systems in the Islamic world which have nothing to do with
Islam. It is crucial this onslaught is encountered at this critical stage and it is
essential that Muslims, or those who love this faith, and are conscious of their
duties help according to their capabilities and means. All will be asked and Islam
is a human need and the Islamic society will be established here or there, today or
tomorrow with or without the help of Muslims.

By writing, it is merely intended for Muslims to 'move.' To 'act' and not set idle
and immobile watching the on-going hideous western-led onslaught on Islam and
Muslims. As to those who carry Muslim names, have Muslim skins and are
leading un-Islamic life styles, be them in the east or west, or those fascinated with
western values, life style, literature or art and those spiritually and intellectually
defeated before western culture, and those 'defeatists' before the 'miserable' state
of the Muslim world, they ought to at least try their 'inherited' faith and not avoid
spiritual commitment and their 'cure' is in the Qur'an. Material progress answers
one aspect of the human whole but it is not an aim in itself and useless in the
absence of faith. Deviation starts small, then the angle continues to enlarge and
enlarge until, as it were, as the Qu'ran explicitly has warned, a seal is set upon the
heart of the individual who persistently refuses to even try, so that no light goes
in or out. This complex state can easily be seen and observed worldwide. The
Qur'an refers to this state as 'death' - still it is plausible such individuals can be
cured but it will be a long and painful process.

The Western hegemony of the world including the Islamic world or the one that
used to be Islamic is almost over not because the west has grown militarily and
economically weak but because it no longer has any values allowing it to lead
after it bankrupted morally and spiritually and after its democratic system has
almost stifled and exposed as nothing but a system in the hands of a few
businessmen, investors and corporations. Man will come out of this Jahiliyyah to
Islam, from falsehood to truth, and from spiritual, economic and material slavery
to freedom. But the road is long, full of blood, corpses, pain and tears and those
who march through the vast ocean of Jahiliyyah which has encompassed the
entire world should adapt to their own social order, practice spiritual seclusion,
preach on one hand and 'move' on the other. Well-organized preaching is
necessary to substantiate Jihad and win the war of ideas. By attacking the ideas
behind the establishment of these Jahili societies, Muslims provide Jihad with
the ideological justifications. Without a war of ideas, Jihad would seem and look
as unsubstantiated and unnecessary violence. The revival of Islam means

something 'big' and significant. More significant than life itself. It means the rebirth of the spiritual humanity which is more important that its first physical
birth. Paradise is looming from far rather from near and its smell is in the
horizon.