that emanated from it. Whosoever placed his faith upon that one revered person was assured eternal salvation, notwithstanding his own personal actions.
Another group, viewing the comprehensiveness of Natural Law assumed man to be a totally enslaved entity. This group considered the evidence presented by psychology, biology, and even jurisprudence, and reached the conclusion that man was certainly not a free creature. This group felt that human beings certainly did not possess a free personality but rather one that was bound by nature’s laws. They could neither go against this Natural Law nor really contemplate it. In their view, it was neither possible for them to form any independent desires nor could they become powerful enough to carry out any autonomous action. Accordingly, human beings could not be held responsible for any of their actions.
Diametrically opposed to this philosophy was yet another group that considered men and women to not only possess a decisive personality but also believed that they were neither subject to any greater plan nor subordinate to any greater power than their own. Moreover, in terms of their actions, human beings were not answerable to anyone except their conscience and in a collective realm to the man-made laws of the land. They were the owners of the world and all things therein had been subjugated for their benefit. They had the power to use them at will. While there were certain self-imposed limits on both individual and group actions, these had come about to improve the human quality of life and to create a social order in a normative collective sense, the human being was all-powerful. To the proponents of this group (the self-labelled ‘enlightened’), the very concept of being subordinate to any Higher Authority was totally nonsensical.
These are the various concepts held by different religions and philosophical schools of thought vis-à-vis the place of human beings in the universe. Upon some of these foundational human ideologies, civilizations have been raised. The fact that we observe differences amongst civilizations can be attributed to the underlying philosophy and concept of worldly life upon which the structure of each civilization has been raised. It is this worldview that has led to the particular developmental path adopted by each civilization. If we were to take a detailed look at the intricacies of each foundational worldview and how it had led to the development of very different and peculiar civilizations, it would be an interesting discussion. However, such a discussion is not fully relevant to this discourse that aims primarily to highlight the salient features of the Islamic civilization.
Here it only needs to be stated that all these various concepts about worldly life are, quite obviously, the outcome of looking at the temporal realm from specific viewpoints. There is not a single worldview amongst these that has been formed after undertaking a comprehensive cosmic review and making a proper determination about the status of human beings in the cosmos. It is for this reason that, sooner or later, when we change our viewpoint and observe the world from any other angle, every philosophy loses its value. And, finally, when we take another look at these worldviews after undertaking a comprehensive cosmic analysis, the flaws of these theories become very obvious.
The Special Significance of the Islamic View
By now it should be clear that amongst all the various worldviews about life in this world, only the Islamic view is one that conforms to the essence of nature and truth. It is only this view that maintains a balanced relationship between man and the material world. Here we observe that the world is neither something to be abandoned nor one to be abhorred. Conversely, on the other hand, the world is not something for which one should fall head over heels and become lost in its pleasures. The world is neither totally honourable nor totally corrupt. It is neither something to be totally refrained from, nor one in which to be fully engrossed. It is not completely impure and polluted nor all virtuous and untainted.
The relationship between man and this world is neither akin to one that exists between a king and his subjects nor is it one that can be likened to a prisoner’s association with the place of his incarceration. Human beings are neither so insignificant that they should bow before every temporal power nor so powerful that they demand homage from all others. They are neither so helpless that their personal resolve amounts to nothing, nor so potent that only their (personal or group) outlook becomes all encompassing. Neither is man the domineering ruler of the temporal milieu nor a poor slave of millions of authoritative masters. The fact is that man’s real status is one that is finely balanced between the various extremes.
Till this point, nature and our own intelligence are able to guide us. But Islam moves beyond these and provides an authoritative elucidation of the true status of human beings and their relationship with the world. It provides an answer to whether humans should consider the material world to be one that is overriding or one which is subservient.
Islam opens the eyes and minds of men and women by stating that while they are no ordinary creatures: they are none other than viceroys of the Lord of Universes. They are a creation for which all the forces of the world have been made acquiescent. They are the rulers of all and the slave of just one Power. Human beings enjoy a status of reverence over all other creatures. However, the right to this honour is available only and until they themselves are respectful and dutiful to the One Who has given them the status of trusteeship in the world and follow His commands. Human beings have been placed in the world to involve themselves in its affairs. Howsoever they act therein – rightly or wrongly – will lead to consequences which shall only become apparent in the Hereafter. Accordingly, throughout this temporal life, they should be mindful of their personal responsibility and carry with themselves the conscious awareness of their high status of trusteeship every moment. No man or woman may, at any point in time, be forgetful of the fact that he will have to account in full for everything that has been placed in his trust by the Lord of the Universes.
There can be little doubt that the foregoing concept is not present – or at least not in its full form – in the mind of every Muslim. Apart from a specific group of intellectuals, few if any have awareness of the finer points of this concept. Yet, because this concept is so central to the belief system upon which the Islamic civilization is based, Muslims, in spite of having lost a great measure of their true character and original glory, are still not fully bereft of it. Any Muslim who has been brought up in an Islamic cultural environment, howsoever sullied by external influences, continues to hold certain beliefs which include a sense of human self-esteem and an awareness of not submitting to any deity but God, of not being afraid of nor accepting anyone other than Allah as the one True Master, of considering himself or herself as God’s trustee in the world, of regarding the world as a place of cause and the Hereafter as a place of effect, of considering success or failure in the Hereafter to be based upon personal actions and regarding temporal wealth and pleasures to be temporary and the consequences of actions as permanent. These beliefs are very deeply rooted in the Muslim psyche and any seasoned observer should be able to detect the effects of this belief system, no matter how faint and faded they may be, as these effects too are part of the Muslim heart and soul.
Any reader of Islamic history is definitely able to appreciate the fact that as long as the Muslim civilization maintained its true Islamic character, it also remained a purely practical civilization. For its followers, the temporal milieu was the proving field of the Hereafter. For as long as they lived in this world, all of them strived to plant the seeds and till the fields of the crop they desired to harvest in the life to come. Indeed, they attempted to plant as many seeds as possible so as to harvest as rich a yield as possible in the Hereafter. They interacted with the world with such a fine balance – a state exactly halfway between monasticism and hedonism – that even its remotest resemblance was not to be seen in any other civilization.
The ideal of establishing God’s kingdom on earth inspired them to interact fully with the world around them, and yet the restraint of trusteeship and consciousness of personal responsibility prevented them from crossing the bounds of probity. Again, it was this same sense of balance that disallowed pride and vanity from setting up a permanent abode in their personalities. In order to run the affairs of state, they were inclined
