The Qur’ān states:
“He Who created
The Seven Heavens
One above another:
No want of proportion
Wilt thou see
In the Creation
Of The Most Gracious
So Turn Thy Vision again:
Seest thou any flaw?
Again turn thy vision
A second time: (thy) vision
Will come back to thee
Dull and discomfited,
In a state worn out.” (67:3-4)
These beautiful verses invite man to have a look at the cosmos, its beauty, its harmony and the unfailing nature of its system. The universe is huge with more than 10 galaxies and 10 stars in it. The size of the universe is so big that there are areas from which the light travelling at the speed of about 300,000 kilometres a second has not yet reached the earth. This is despite the fact that the universe is assumed to have come into existence more than 15 billion years ago. In spite of the massive size of the universe and innumerable bodies that form it, the universe has an unfailing harmony. Satellites revolve around planets, planets around stars; numerous stars form numerous galaxies, numerous galaxies form numerous clusters, clusters form superclusters, which form one or few megagalaxies. All the systems act with impeccable precision; all follow the same sets of laws, wherever they are.
Peace and harmony are there in the universe because everywhere the same system is being strictly adhered to. If the laws decreed by the Creator at the time of the creation of the universe had not been followed in totality it would have been dead by now. But it exists because it follows the laws of God. If inhabitants of the earth had followed the same set of laws everywhere and in all spheres of life, and had stuck to the restrictions instructed to them by the messengers of God, the earth too would have become a garden of unparalleled beauty. It would the have become an abode of peace, which would have been available to all.
But inhabitants of this planet chose to follow different sets of laws, which were decreed by the powerful among them for the sake of the perpetuation of their own supremacy over the rest. The result is that this tiny part of the gigantic universe has become the abyss of anarchy where the devil rules. In short, Islam is well established in the universe, but man could not establish Islam on the earth. The day mankind decides to follow the system of laws enjoined by their Creator, the Devil will be on the run and peace and harmony will immediately begin to return.
HUMAN STRENGTHS RECOGNISED, WEAKNESSES SUPPRESSED
Man is the reservoir of strengths as well as weaknesses. Peace is the result of the realisation of human strengths. If human strengths are ignored and weaknesses are promoted and glorified immanent chaos is the inevitable consequence. Man is a child and society its guardian. A child tends to err; the guardian has to keep a watch and use corrective measures whenever required. The more perfect the guardianship the better are the prospects of children developing into sensible adults. If children are left to themselves doing whatever they like in the name of freedom, many of them will groom into ruffians. If guardians start promoting an environment conducive for the adoption of dangerous practices, all but few of the children would grow into perverts of one or the other kind.
Human weaknesses are born out of the human desire to get rich as quickly as possible, to have an unceasing fun, at the earliest, and their willingness to copy what others do, especially their nears and dears and the elite of society. When man feels hungry, he wants to enjoy delicious foods of all variety, when thirsty, he wants to have all kinds of drinks, and when one feels like having physical fun, one wants to have as many partners as one can afford to have.
Added to this, man tends to get addicted too soon to analyse and give up a habit after he has been exposed to it. If there are forces that are looking to exploit these tendencies, which are too powerful to be sidetracked, chaos, anarchy and violence are sure to vanquish peace, calm and tranquillity.
Islam does not merely promote Peace; Islam is peace itself. One who has entered Islam wholeheartedly has entered peace in its entirety. One who has accepted any part of its moral, social and legal principles is on the way to enjoy at least some of the fruits of peace. One who has left some parts of it has lost at least some dimensions of peace. Finally, one, who has disproved everything that Islam preaches, has put oneself away from the path of peace and on the course of chaos. Islam does not rule the current world with the result that chaos prevails, as is evident from the figures cited in the preceding chapters. Muslims of the current world have adopted Islam partially. This partial application has deprived them of the peace in its entirety. Still they are in a much better state of peace than the people living in the so-called developed world are. This is evident from the fact that they have
one of the lowest rates of murders
almost negligible incidence of suicides
very low rates of rapes
negligible consumption of alcohol and alcohol-related deaths and other problems
very low rate of gambling related problems
extremely low level of family break-ups
extremely low number of prostitutes and pornographic actors among them
negligible level of sexual abuse of children
very low incidence of sex-related, alcohol related and gambling related diseases
relatively low incidence of drug addiction
relatively low incidence of psychiatric illnesses
relatively very low level of the consumption of sedatives and tranquillisers
very low incidence of single parents, negligible number of children born out of wedlock
relatively much lower level of promiscuity and other sexual perversions
very low level of abortions including teenage pregnancies, etc
relatively low incidence of several diseases including Cancers of Penis and Cervix (due to circumcision), sex transmitted diseases, Urinary Tract Infections, other cancers due to alcohol, etc.
The world must know that if Islamic principles are allowed to function properly, every year more than 80 million lives can be saved. These include
2 million murders
2.2 million suicides
5 million deaths from AIDS
5 million deaths from smoking
2 million deaths associated with alcohol
2 million deaths associated with smoking, gambling and drugs
70 million cases of feticide
Even if feticide is excluded, more than 10 million people should have been saved every year from falling prey to the unwanted kinds of death had Islamic legal and socio-economic system been in force. These are no ordinary figures. These are staggering statistics from all accounts. And adding the figures of feticide, more than 80 million lives are lost just because the laws of God are not followed. For a few thousands dead in terrorist attacks, the world is made hostage, billions of dollars are put to the fire, cities devastated and tens of thousands of innocents killed. For millions of death as the result of the pursuance of socio-economic policies dictated by the forces of globalisation, virtually nothing is done except a few cosmetic measures. In the US alone, for example,
More than 200,000 people are assaulted with murderous intents every year (more than 18,000 are killed)
More than 30, 000 die of AIDS
More than 100, 000 die of alcohol, smoking and drugs
Half a million of foetuses are aborted
Despite these horrible figures, nothing substantial is done to save America from these deaths. But for a few thousands killed in terrorist attacks in over 10 years, the whole world is threatened with death and destruction. No punishment is there in store for the killers who are involved in the merchandise of devastation, selling death in the bottles of whisky and in the bodies of glamour. But “terrorists” must not only die themselves; hundreds of thousands of others must face death for their “sins”.
[Dr. Javed Jamil is Executive Chairman, International Centre for Applied Islamics; Chief Editor of “Islam, Muslims & the World”; and author of more than a dozen books on wide range of subjects. He can be reached at [email protected]]