Islam's Response to Contemporary Issues — Page 68
68 islam’s response to contemporary issues punish whomsoever He considers fit to be punished and Allah has the power to do all that He wills. 11 The Holy Quran adds: Follow not that of which thou hast no knowledge. Verily, the ear and the eye and the heart—all these shall be called to account. 12 Here, by heart, the Holy Quran means the ultimate life force which is behind every human act. Fu’ a d , in the Holy Quran, means that ultimate decisive will in man which operates the brain as one operates computers. So that ultimate will is the source of all evil and good and it is that will in the form of a new life after death which, in addition to the ear and the eyes, shall be held answerable. Let us now study the features of godless societies at a closer range. It so happens that atheism and disbelief in the Hereafter lie vague and undetected in a semi-conscious state. In beliefs, apparently one may continue to subscribe to the existence of God and the belief in the Hereafter, but for all practical purposes, they seem to be non-existent, sometimes it takes a crisis to bring these concealed realities to one’s conscious mind. Sometimes, even generations can live without truly realising the fickleness and fragility of their beliefs. It is at such times that atheism and disbelief in the Hereafter, which had lain undetected and unchallenged, begin to surface. In society already given to indiscriminate and incontinent pursuit of pleasure, the conscious rejection of God and the Hereafter brings the process of moral decay and erosion of values to a rapid head.