God created man in the best mould, distinguished him from other living creatures, and blessed him with wisdom and ability, knowledge and insight to differentiate truth from falsehood, right from wrong, fact from myth, etc. (The Qur’ān – 95:4) This gracious bestowal of innumerable bounties and blessings wants man to obey and worship God. That too in an unadulterated manner.
But a cursory glance on society brings into light that people in general instead of leading life in total obedience to God are following their whims and inconsistencies. As various isms would have it, they are running after worldly gains even at the cost of spiritual cravings. They not only strive to gain more and more of worldly goods but also vie with one another in this mad run, and also brag and boast of possessing greater abundance of things than others. This mad run has so occupied them that its pursuit has made them heedless of moral and social values. This lifestyle has created restlessness, chaos and anarchy in society. The Qur’ān (102:1) presents this picture in a subtle way: “The craving for ever-greater worldly gains and to excel others in that regard keeps you occupied.”
This lopsided lifestyle has derailed people from the right path. And this indifference to the divine teachings has resulted in the various social problems. Broken families, pronouncement of divorce at the drop of a hat, ill-treatment with spouses and children, ever rising number of old age homes, extravagance in marriages, denying women their share in inheritance, mindless abortion, attempt to legalise live-in relationship and homosexuality are only some of the ill consequences of going indifferent to the divine guidance.
It is high time that we do amr bil ma’roof (inviting people to virtues) and nahi anil munkar (stopping them from doing wrongs). We must have a close watch on the members of our family, help and guide them in the pursuit of success in life and the hereafter, in doing only what God wants us to do and eschewing all what He forbids us to do. If there is need of counselling in the family or society, our elders should come forward to guide the people in need. In short, we must be concerned about whatever is going on around, not oblivious of it. It is only by taking these multi-pronged measures that we can keep our families and society on healthy footing.