Islam's Response to Contemporary Issues — Page 268
268 islam’s response to contemporary issues Those who believe and whose hearts find peace in the remembrance of Allah because it is only in the remembrance of Allah that hearts can find peace. 18 Without God, There Can Be No Peace Man cannot live at peace with himself nor can peace be vouchsafed for society without this formula; no other formula can work. It is only the love of God which can bring about true respect for His creation. The higher the order of creation, the nearer it becomes to the Creator and the stronger the bond between the created and the Creator grows. Man begins to respect other men with a higher and nobler object; i. e. out of his respect and the obligation owed to his Creator, man begins to respect mankind. One can, therefore, say that in essence, it is the love of God which is transformed into the love for His creation. Hypothetically, remove God from the scenario for a while and suddenly human relationships acquire a completely different perspective. The vacuum created by the non-existence of God is suddenly filled by man’s ego. It is a very naive and extremely ignorant philosophy that man can live without God. What atheism ultimately achieves is not just the death of one God but it suddenly brings to life a myriad of gods. Every conscious being that exists, suddenly acquires the role of a god unto himself or itself. Ego, selfishness and the total commitment to serve one’s own ends grow stronger and all-powerful. Societies, which are built with the bricks of such individuals, always remain egoistic and self-oriented.