Islamic Civilization - Sayyid Abul A'la Mawdudi

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countless new ways. It is on account of this power that you are able to expand your means of accumulating knowledge through which you then gain access to objects that are otherwise beyond the reach of your physical capacities. In short, there is this one force by virtue of which all things in the temporal realm are placed at your disposal and because of which you gain mastery over them.

      Moreover, these Divine forces that are otherwise not under your control, generally act in ways that are not detrimental to you, but are rather beneficial to your plans. Air, water, light, heat and numerous other physical forces upon which your life depends are available to serve your interests. All of these exist and operate under a system, the very purpose of which is to serve you. Thus, it could very well be said that these have been subdued for human use.

      When you consider the human environment with a deeper, analytical observation, you are able to discern a powerful law, a powerful mechanism in operation. Caught within the confines of this great system are all forms of existence, from the lowest of the low to the most powerful. The survival of the whole universe is contingent upon a strict operation of this system. Yet, there is a great difference between human beings and all other temporal objects. None of these non-human entities possesses the least power to act against the great law (of nature). Human beings, on the other hand, not only have the power to oppose the great natural law but indeed, quite paradoxically, this law itself aids them in their contravention of its stipulations. Of course, every such contravention carries with it certain harmful effects. Never has it been nor will it ever be possible for human beings to escape the detrimental consequences of their contraventions of this natural law.

      Within the operative confines of this irrevocable universal law, various expressions of distortion and corruption can be found. The whole universe is undergoing a constant process of creation and destruction. The very same laws under which an object is brought into existence serve as the reason for its decimation and death. No temporal object is safe from this ongoing process of change. Even the things which apparently seem to be safe from this process and manifest a semblance of permanence are subject to movement and transformation and are bound by the laws of creation and obliteration. No other entity in the universe possesses the powers of intellect and enlightenment, or at least we do not have knowledge of such faculties, and hence such entities are neither able to perceive this creation and destruction occurring within themselves nor are they able to feel the pleasure of birth or pain of death. Amongst the animal species, even if there is any experiential discernment of such processes, to the best of our knowledge, its extent is minimal. Human beings, on the other hand, are a creation gifted with intellect and enlightenment. They are able to discern changes taking place within and around themselves and also feel the pain and pleasure of the accompanying transformational processes. Moreover, at times, they are so overcome by the pleasant sensations generated through agreeable affairs that they tend to disregard and neglect the evil that exists all around them and similarly, at times, dreadful experiences lead to such pain that they only see malevolence throughout, forgetting the fact that there also exists much benevolence.

      All the same, howsoever contradictory the feelings of pleasure and pain are that one may carry within oneself, and whatsoever may be one’s worldview towards temporal life as a result of the influence of such feelings – either oriented towards expansion or regression – human beings are constrained to deal with the world. They are forced to practically interact with the world and put to use the instinctive forces placed within themselves. The desire to live and go on living has been implanted in the human make up. In order to carry out the dictates of this instinct, the great force of hunger has also been placed deep within their existence; this forces human beings to continuously undertake one productive activity or another. The law of nature dictates the utilization of human energies for the continuation of the species. In order to fulfil this imperative, nature has placed within the human body a force that simply refuses to go away and only departs when it has achieved its purpose: the libido.

      Similarly implanted within man’s instinctive make up are other forces that have been so placed as to achieve other objectives. All of these forces act to exact and extract their purposes through coercive means. It now remains for human wisdom to channel the dictates of these forces – through proper means or improper, by way of actions that please the soul or those that offend it. And, it does not end here; ‘Nature’ has also granted human beings the discretion of either acting in the service of these objectives or shunning cooperation with them and acting defiantly. Together with this broad statement of principle, there is another immutable natural law by virtue of which it is beneficial for human beings to act in consonance with natural laws (and not against them). If human beings were to either contravene natural law, or not follow it completely or appropriately, then this would only be detrimental to their own interests.

      When a good-natured and broadminded person casts his eyes on the world, and then analyses his state, all the factors described above will surely come before his vision. However, various human groups have seen this collage from different angles. Often, it has so happened that a group has found only one angle or aspect of reality to be more obvious amongst the various options possible or available. And when that has happened, the holders of that (limited) vision have been known to go on and establish a worldview on the basis of that particular perception without even attempting to examine the various different views possible.

      For instance, one group of human beings viewed the human state with its weakness and helplessness and contrasted this to the immense coercive forces of nature. It reached the conclusion that man was a very insignificant being. Naturally, this conclusion was based on the assumption that these beneficial and detrimental forces were autonomous and self-regulating – or at least semi-independent – and not subject to any universal law. This concept so dominated their minds that the alternate worldview wherein man has ascendance over the whole universe disappeared from their scope of possibilities. Thus that group lost sight of the positive aspects of their existence. It allowed the human position of high esteem and superiority to be overcome by this exaggerated, self-professed confession of frailty and feebleness. Various forms of idolatry, including tree-worship, star-worship and veneration of various natural objects and force, are an outcome of this worldview.

      Another group viewed the world as a place full of evil and corruption; they concluded that the whole cosmos existed merely to subject human beings to pain and sorrow. According to this group, all the various relationships and interactions of the world existed only to entangle them in webs of difficulty and anguish. And what to say of the human milieu, when the whole cosmos was caught in the grip of misery and death? Spring only came about to be decimated by autumn. The tree of life bore fruit only to cause a momentary halt to the juggernaut of death. The beauty of creation was adorned time and again only because it pleased the god of destruction to play afoul with it, once again.

      This worldview naturally led people to lose interest in the temporal world. They saw their deliverance only by way of shunning all their worldly desires, by leaving worldly life altogether and adopting self-denial and asceticism. In so doing, they believed they could undo the machinations of the unjust law of nature, which used human beings merely as an instrument for its self-propagation.

      Yet another group saw this world as an abode that provided human beings with (unlimited) means of pleasure and gratification, albeit for a brief time. As sensations of pain and expressions of sorrow made life disagreeable, if men and women were able to deny these feelings then there would be nothing but pleasure on earth. Such people reached the conclusion that this temporal life was all that existed. Accordingly, all the happiness that had to be enjoyed was to be here and now. Nothing would remain after death, neither the earthly abode, nor its means of self-contentment. Thus was born hedonism or the philosophy of pure and unlimited pleasure.

      Opposed to this was still another group that considered not only the pleasure and happiness of this world, but worldly life itself, to be a sin. They believed that all material corruptions of the world were a curse for the human soul, which had to be avoided like any other contamination. There was no aspect of good or piety in interacting with the world, participating in its business, or enjoying its pleasures. According to

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