Islam's Response to Contemporary Issues — Page 80
80 islam’s response to contemporary issues fulfilment of desires which can, in the final analysis; result in more misery than pleasure in the society. At the same time, Islam cultivates new tastes and develops the ability to derive pleasure and satisfaction from acts which may appear colourless, insipid and tasteless to the uncultured and untrained. Tastes are modified and coarse sensual cravings are trained and refined and turned into aspirations for the sublime. But the question is how can we determine that the prevalent and contemporary social trends are unhealthy for a society? To me, the answer seems to be a simple one. The health of a society should be judged by the same symptoms as the health of an individual. When someone is in pain, restless, abnormal or sub-normal in his reactions or when anxiety seems to displace one’s content and peace of heart and mind, it does not require an exceptionally wise man or highly- proficient physician to adjudge or diagnose such an unhealthy person as being seriously ill. All these symptoms are manifest in contemporary society. How true were the words of Jesus as when he said: By their fruits you will recognise them. Never do people gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles, do they? Likewise every good tree bears fine fruit, but every rotten tree produces worthless fruit; a good tree cannot bear worthless fruit, neither can a rotten tree produce fine fruit. 16 People are crying themselves hoarse against the bitterness of the fruit today, but somehow they do not want to replace the tree with a better one. They fail to see that it is not the tree which is at fault nor the fruit