Answer
Salam Dear Mohiuddin,
Thank you for your question and for contacting Ask About Islam.
First of all, we need to outline the basic teachings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) before we can explain their relevance to the present times.
Under guidance from Allah Almighty, the Prophet taught the world these fundamental principles of Islam:
- Allah is One and One Only; and so the universe created by Him is one — that is to say, its parts conjoin and cohere following Allah’s laws to serve His purpose.
- All humans are Allah’s creations and as such they are equal before Him. So there is no superiority for any race, color, language, tribe, or nationality. That is to say, all barriers that people use to alienate man from man have no value with regard to human status, dignity or rights.
- All religions were brought to the world by Allah’s own prophets and messengers; and so they are basically the same.
- Our life in this world is not the be-all and the end-all: there is a Day of Judgment on which Allah will reward those who live a good life in obedience to Him, and will punish those who don’t.
- Allah’s creation has a balance and proportion; and He has commanded his servants to observe balance and proportion — which constitutes the principle of justice — in their life and actions.
The English poet-critic Matthew Arnold has diagnosed the symptoms of “this strange disease of modern life” as “sick hurry” and “divided aims.” Mathew Arnold, “The Scholar Gypsy“.
Today, people have no time; they hurry after several aims, stricken by a desire to attain all of them at the same time. And the result is often stress, depression, and despair, at times leading to severe mental disorders.
What could be the cure of this disease? The Prophet of Islam, about 14 centuries ago, taught his followers to strive after one aim in life: to always seek the way of approach to Allah Almighty.
Because, Allah Almighty Himself has said in the Quran what means:
{O you man! Certainly you are ever toiling on towards your Lord- painfully toiling — and you shall meet Him.} (Al-Inshiqaq 84:6)
It is also worth remembering that another characteristic of modern life is the cult of speed. People today have no time to rest, as they are morbidly engaged in a rat race for money, fame, fashion, and power.
We have invented rapid means of transport, though often we have little sense of direction. We have most efficient machines for doing cumbersome work; but we have forgotten the simple joys of handicraft. We have giant organizations and systems; but we have no sense of community and no sympathy for our ailing brothers.
Religion — particularly Islam as taught by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) — takes us back from the dehumanized machine-driven world to the happiness of being human. And Muhammad instilled into his followers sincerity and commitment to the good of all; to have a passion for service and sacrifice aimed at the welfare of all.
Prophet Muhammad’s message is named ‘Islam’ which means peace — the peace one attains here in this world as well as the eternal peace one can attain in the other world by leading a life of obedience to Allah Almighty.
Indeed the Prophet taught the Muslims to pray thus:
“O God! Certainly You are the source of peace!
Peace comes from You and returns to You; so make us O Lord live in peace!
And by Your Grace admit us into the Home of Peace!”
Carl Jung, the famous Swiss psychologist, has written that the root cause of the disease of modern man is that he has forgotten his soul. According to him, man is in such a state today that he cannot find any solace in his life, because he has ignored his soul. (Carl Gustav Jung, Modern Man in Search of a Soul, Harvest Books- New York, 1955)
This is possible only by a return to God. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught his followers to bow before Allah five times a day — no less than five times. That is the way we can keep our mind and soul in harmony with nature, the universe and above all, with Allah’s laws.
Most conflicts of the contemporary world stem from two roots: ethnic and economic. It is interesting to note that over fourteen centuries ago, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had taught us ways of managing the above two driving forces of modern societies. And in his own society, he put in place systems of handling such issues at their very root.
Consider the question of ethnic violence. Its most notable characteristic is the intensity and the rage it evokes. How can such conflicts be resolved? The Prophet Muhammad effectively instilled into his followers the idea that all humans are from Adam, and Adam is from the earth.
Quoting Allah Almighty’s own words, he told them that no one is superior or inferior; that differences of skin color, language, nationality, race, or tribe are God-given; and they do not by themselves represent any sort of superiority or inferiority. They are simply meant for mutual identification and interaction, and not for advancing any claim for precedence. (see Al-Hujurat 49:13)
The Prophet’s society had so well imbibed the spirit of this teaching, that the members of the noblest tribe of the Quraish were prepared to set free their slaves, and embrace them as equals into the society.
In the contemporary world, the gap between the rich and the poor is evident from the following statistics: The richest 2% of the world’s population own half of the world’s wealth; while half the world — nearly three billion people — live on less than two dollars a day. (World Poverty Statistics)
Why is this happening? Affluent people imagine that they have no responsibility towards the destitute. They do not believe in Allah Who bestowed material blessings on some and deprived others of it as a test; and they have practically rejected the belief in the Hereafter, where each person is accountable before Allah for all his deeds including his utter disregard of Allah’s Book and His Prophet.
They ignore the Prophetic teaching that the poor and the needy have a claim to a specific share of the wealth of the rich. Hence the widening disparity between the obscenely rich and the starving millions, especially of the Third World.
We know that the bases of human rights are the concepts of human equality and justice. The Prophet demonstrated in his own society the validity of these two concepts in realizing rights for orphans, the destitute, and the oppressed. And today we live in a world of terrible inequalities and brutal injustices which have been ironically made acceptable to ‘civilized society’ by spin and hype.
Today, all thinking humans are painfully aware of the fact that without justice, there is no chance for peace. And the teaching of the Prophet about the overarching importance of justice becomes only too apparent in today’s context of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo.
The International Court of Justice, the UNO and all its constituent bodies are shamelessly being coerced and manipulated by the powerful countries to act as their tools, without any regard for justice. But here is Allah’s command about justice:
{O you who believe! stand out firmly for Allah, as witnesses to fair dealing, and let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. Be just: that is next to piety: and fear Allah. For Allah is well-acquainted with all that you do.} (Al-Ma’idah 5:8)
The horrible scenes of atrocities committed by neo-imperialist forces on subject nations for the sake of plundering their resources, bring to light the terrible price humans are made to pay, when the world’s nations ignore the teachings of Islam as taught by the Quran and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
I hope this answers your question. Please keep in touch.
Salam.