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This is from the
days when I hadn't reached that stage of awareness yet where man, having baked
in the kiln of intellect, turns into a human being. But one question that
pervaded my thoughts had frayed my nerves: 'What is the purpose of life?' As
the boundaries of reflection embraced the concepts of life and servitude to the
Creator, the reality would arise that all of earth's creation shares a common
bond within the system of universe. Just as the requirements of hunger and
thirst move man, in the very same manner, the other creatures are subject to
the same requirements. The process of birth is just as established within the
ant species as it is in man. A cat and a mouse also take care of and nurture
their young ones, as does d human. As far as training is concerned, each
species is bound by a particular way of thinking: From the crack of dawn, a
sparrow busies herself in the task of obtaining sustenance, and so does an
elephant. I have seen it with my own eyes that as a cow's calf died, the cow
shed tears from her big black eyes (or three straight days.
There is another
scene that I also cannot get out of my mind:
A cow, during the
process of creation, is experiencing intense labour pains" and giving
birth has become a serious ordeal. A Hindu woman, filled with maternal
instincts, announced,
"The cow should
be placed in a room and the door shut from the outside."
After some time, the
door was opened, and the cow was very lovingly licking her newborn calf. Her
eyes shone with the same maternal love I have seen in the eyes of my own
mother. The secret revealed then was that the concept of shame and modesty is
present even in cows.
Once, when a man,
showing his human nature, took aim and shot down a crow, hundreds of crows
appeared on the scene from nowhere and started to wail so loudly that it became
impossible to hear anything else. This expression of sorrow continued till the
third day of the crow's death.
As a hen paced here
and there, so proudly and gracefully, with her young ones in tow, so beautiful
like colourful balls of soft cotton, the sound of a hawk rudely disrupted the
peace of the surroundings. The children's mother, hen, felt the danger and spoke
to her young ones as if saying, "Come quickly, hide! Your mother's embrace
is your refuge." The innocent children, with faces as pretty as flowers,
ran in fear. The hen opened up her wings and gathered them in her embrace.
I happened to see a
bird much smaller than even a sparrow. I saw her house as well. What a house it
was! It was more like a protected castle in the shape of a dome, with separate
rooms. The rooms included bedrooms. The bedrooms were arranged in a way that
allowed light to enter. O yes, that house also had a swing-as children require
a cradle too. The house was so strong that powerful winds and storms could do
it no harm. It was air-conditioned from within. After searching for
information, I found out that this house belonged to the weaverbird-a bird that
can be considered the civil engineer of birds. It is a small bird with a body
like that of a sparrow, and a size smaller than a sparrow's, but a mind more
powerful than that of an elephant. Such is the level of intelligence and
awareness of this bird, skilled in the fine arts, that if man, the inventor of
the atom bomb, were to try for years, he would still not be able to build such
a house.
This and many
similar observations based on reality spurred the intellect and led to the
conclusion that, 'Intelligence is not related to physical size, nor is
intelligence the sole inheritance of human beings.'
When the streams of
thought merged and formed an ocean, the question ion that begged reflection
was, 'What aspect is it that distinguishes man from beast?' If man has the
distinction that he invents, then the process of invention also occurs among
Animals, both large and small. The fact that the nature of inventions is
different is a separate discussion. But the human species cannot deny the fact
that, within the inventions of other species of animals, we do not find the
aspect of destruction, whereas, within human inventions, the aspect of
destruction predominates.
A recurring piece of
information that is circulated is that, 'Man is superior among all creation.'
But superiority is proven when a bird flies without external resources, whereas
man, even after spending millions and billions of dollars for the pursuit of
flight, is still dependant on outside resources. With each new avenue of
progress and invention that opens, a proportional increase in pain and
suffering takes place. When looking at the domain of management and
organization, one has no choice but to admit that the order and discipline that
honey bees exhibit is far superior to the order and discipline of human
affairs. Then, what superiority does man possesses which ignites such fires of
conceit and arrogance within him? What distinction is it that has caused him to
appear in the forms of Shaddad ['an Adite/ Adermite ruler, claiming divinity'],
Nimrod, and the Pharaohs [of Egypt)?
The current age is
referred to as a time of unprecedented progress. An analysis of this supposed
acme of progress reveals that what is meant by progress is actually an unending
process of infliction of cruelty and hardship. Progress has come to mean that
poverty-stricken humanity is defrauded in the name of progress, and is left
terror-writ ken by having impressed upon them the intellectual superiority of
others, that the resources which mother earth produces for her children are
usurped and turned into deadly weapons, and that hundreds of billions of
dollars are snatched from hungry and impoverished populations and used to
create nuclear weapons that would bring instant death to hundreds of thousands
of people. With all of the publicity given these barbaric actions, it is
difficult for God's creation to be able to think of their own survival, or to
do anything for the protection of their progeny. So gruesome is this cruelty
that, to prove one's self a superpower, weapons upon weapons are amassed,
which, if thrown into a pile would make a mountain. Then this volcano of a
mountain is used to set brother against brother-all sons of the same parents
(Adam and Eve) -because if the brothers live with love and unity, the prospect
of becoming a superpower would remain a dream. How intelligent and wise is the
scientist who cannot fathom the simple reality that when a thing is created it
is bound to be used? Have we ever thought as to why the superpower wants to
destroy the earth's heavenly gardens, its cities brimming with life, and its
fields full of crops? It is because they do not believe that rule and
sovereignty belongs to Allah alone. And we are suffering this terrible ordeal
of hardship, worry and insecurity because we have accepted as our masters those
who worship wealth and are full of prejudice.
Is it still not time
for us to use our intelligence and wisdom, at least to the extent which Allah's
tiny creatures are capable ' [Is it still not time for us] to finally obey this
command of our Almighty God, Allah:
"And
hold on tight to the rope of Allah, and du not create disorder."
[Holy
Quran ch3: v 10,11]
As this storm looms
over us, if we do not come to our senses And do not use our natural intellect,
our names will be wiped off of the face of this earth.
The Holy Quran
announces this loudly and clearly:
"The
nations that do not bring about a change within themselves; their existence on
earth has no more significance than rubbish and dirt."
[Holy Quran ch13:v11]
KHWAJA SHAMS-UD-DEEN AZEEMI
Science has made immense progress, yet many believe that, even with all of the modern tools at our disposal, human beings function at no more than 10% of their mental capacity. This leads to the question of what exactly it is that comprises the remaining 90%. Yet another question that arises is this: If it has taken man four and a half billion years to be able to apply only 10% of his ability, how long will it take for him to make use of the remaining 90%?