| September 13, 2002 | Friday | Rajab 5, 1423 |
Quran’s rational approach
IN our present times and all times to come, we have to understand that Allah’s message is based on sound and rational foundations. ‘O mankind, Verily there has come to you a convincing proof from your Lord’ (4:174). There has always been a tussle between man’s own standards of how this life should be lived and the absolute standards or values brought by Allah’s Messengers.
AMONGST all the birds only the cuckoo is so innocent that often it tends to lose its way back to the nest, forcing little chicks to cry, with their beaks in the air, for the unkept promise. Jack Nicholson in his famous film “One flew over cuckoo’s nest” also compares the helplessness of the inmates of a mental correction centre with the waiting chicks of the lost cuckoo.
Of all the megacities in the world none may be able to compete with Karachi when it comes to lost dreams and forgotten promises. The city is littered with abandoned structures and unfulfilled plans. Last week we were essentially told that the previous plans of the Karachi Mass Transit Programme, as well as the Karachi Circular Railway, were all dead.
However a brand new set of plans for space-age transport based on ‘Magnetic Levitation Trains’ were unveiled through a press release by the City District Government Karachi, announcing that a MoU had been signed with Swiss-German firm Inter Glob for running of electro-magnetic trains in Karachi. The press release claimed that the international consortium on Build, Operate and Transfer basis would finance the 1.2 billion-dollar project.
The MoU signed without the consent of the Federal Planning Commission or the Provincial Planning Department yet announced by the city Nazim, Naimatullah Khan, in the presence of Sindh Governor Mohammedmian Soomro and Prof (Dr) Ing Wagner of Inter Glob further claims that no monetary investment would be required from the cash-strapped city government.
According to the press release, Mr Khan also believes that “the project would help solve the city’s transport problem at an affordable fare.” Dr Wagner pointed out that the system of electro-magnetic trains that would be spread over 97 km in six corridors could also be extended up to Islamabad with the capability to ferry cars as well as trucks. According to the press release, Dr Wagner felt “that the system could be extended to Afghanistan and from there to the Central Asian states, and thus oil and gas from those countries could be exported to Southeast Asia, China and Japan via Karachi for which the city government would have to build storage facilities.”
Let us now examine the concept behind Magnetic Levitation Train also known as Maglevs. They differ from a conventional train running on steel tracks as Maglev floats above its guide-ways due to a very powerful magnetic field, and propelled by a linear induction motor, by changing magnetic fields. Once the train is pulled over the next section the magnetic polarity switches and the train is pulled once again. The electro-magnets, however, have to run through the entire length of the track or guide-way. The major disadvantage with a Maglev is that the magnetized guide-paths are too costly than a conventional electric train or its steel tracks.
No Maglev is yet in commercial use, even though the technology may have been around since the 1960s. Britain was the first country to introduce the Maglev service during the mid-1980s linking the two terminals at Birmingham airport. It was, however, later replaced with a bus service. Germany is the only country in the world that plans to use Maglevs for a link between Berlin and Hamburg in 2005 or the multi-billion dollar connection by the German Trans-Rapid Consortium for extremely rich New Pudong Industrial Area and Pudong International Airport, Shanghai.
Other major countries besides Germany that have tested Maglev include the USA and Japan. Though the USA appears less interested in Maglev, Japan has built two lines for testing purpose. The first one built in the 1960s was designed to test the basic theory and the second built in 1996 was designed to test advanced concepts and was also used to set a speed record of 550km per hour in 1998.
Even in the developed world ‘Magnetically Levitated Trains’ may be ultimately used for high-speed connections between stations far apart. The major hurdle in the way of their development includes that they already have very long stretches of existing steel tracks for conventional railways. For instance, the UK has 31,932 kms of tracks, France 34,449 kms and Germany 40,726 kms of tracks. Obviously, no one is going to convert such large tracks into Maglev tracks for little energy efficiency that the proponents of Maglev claim over conventional trains at higher speeds of 250-300 kmph. Also the ability of a Maglev to attain such high speeds within a third of the distance required by conventional trains on steel tracks may be useful for the French TGV, whereas Karachi with its limited resources may be happy with a basic yet affordable Mass Transit System with the good old Karachi Circular Railway being one of the main components of that system.
The problem with grandiose development plans, in an unsuspecting society like ours, is that they may bring tons of glory for those at the helm of affairs, yet they never translate into reality, just end up wasting a lot of scant resources of an already impoverished nation.
Responding to the cries of the unfinished structures of Hyatt Regency Hotel, Faizee Rahmeen Auditorium, the indoor gymnasium near the swimming pool with a dysfunctional filter plant on Kashmir Road and so many other projects abandoned across the city may help reduce cynicism amongst the heavily-taxed residents of this ever-expanding city blemished with frequent power failures, little water and dark and broken roads.
For once our benign military rulers and authors of ‘Devolution of Power- Pakistani style’ should trust their elected representatives and transfer resources that are owed to Karachi instead of ‘doling out’ tit-bits for programmed execution through the bureaucracy. Someone may also like to advise our good old Nazim-i-Aala that his wanton Techno-Saudi connections are chewing into his otherwise good name. He may better serve the cause of the city if he takes a good look at the landscape instead of flying trains.
Allama Iqbal believes that religious ambition soars higher than the ambition of philosophy and is not satisfied with mere conception; it seeks a more intimate knowledge of, and association with, the object of its pursuit. The Messengers pragmatically proved the Divine revelations by living their lives according to them.
‘You have indeed in the Messenger of Allah a beautiful pattern (of conduct) for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the “final day”.’ (33:21) The prophets brought one message from God (6:84 to 89) which, somehow, the people could not easily digest as they were used to a life of luxury and sin. We have entered the new millennium and the world is still unable to grasp the simple message brought by these Messengers, the last of which, Mohammed (peace be upon him) delivered the final message that is preserved for all times in the Quran.
The Quran stresses the importance of knowledge and refers to it in more than 500 places. Although man has probed the frontiers of knowledge, yet the ultimate knowledge, truth and guidance are from Allah. He alone has total authority over every thing. The Quran helps those who wish to seek guidance from it.
“This is the Book. In it is guidance — sheer, without doubt to those who fear Allah” (2:2) It must be remembered that the religious ones fear and love Allah deeply and reject all other authorities. An infidel has his own ‘Ilahs’ and worldly standards and hence seeks guidance from them. ‘Yet there are men who take (for worship) others beside Allah,” As equal they love them as they should love Allah. But those of faith are overflowing in their love for Allah (2:165).
We generally believe that Quran’s guidance is for Muslims only. This is a wrong conception because the Quran says: ‘Wherewith Allah guides all who seek His Good pleasure to ways of peace and safety and leads them out of darkness (5:16) At another place the Quran says that it is a guidance and instruction for those who fear Allah (3:138) The message of Allah is universal and hence infinite. We claim that we believe in Allah and His divine message, but in practice everyone has his own standards and pays only lip service to Allah’s message. ‘O mankind! there has come to you a direction from your Lord and a healing for the disease in your hearts and for those who believe a Guidance and a Mercy’ (10.57)
Allah wants us to be guided towards His mercy and abstain from the ways of the devil. ‘Those who eschew evil and fall not into its worship and turn to Allah (in repentance) for them is good news’ (39:17) ‘Those who listen to the word and follow the best meaning in it are the ones whom Allah has guided’ (39:18)
Throughout our lives we strive for different aims and goals and sometime feel disappointed when we fail to achieve them. Disappointment looms large when the outcome of our efforts does not yield the desired results. In such circumstances we should always turn to the Ayats of the Quran and apply them practically in our lives. ‘And those who strive in Our cause, We will certainly guide them to Our Paths’. (29:69)
Our efforts in the way of Allah can never go in vain. The Sirat-e-Mustaqeem, or the righteous path is given to us by Allah we strive and yearn for it. Those who deny his Ayats will never receive his guidance.
There is a general misconception that a born Muslim will always be good and right, that nobody can prevent him from going to heaven. Such concepts have led our namesake Muslims to lofty claims of superiority over others. Little do they realize that this is not the way Allah’s system works. ‘Do men think that they shall be left alone saying ‘we believe’, that they would not be put to test’?” (29:2) ‘And to all are assigned degrees according to their deeds which they have done And Allah will recompense their deeds. No injustice would be done to them’ (46:19) ‘Such will be the garden of which you are made heirs for your (good) deeds in life’ (43:72)
True guidance in all respects can only come from Allah and that should be our primary objective. ‘O you who believe! guard your souls: if you follow right guidance no hurt can come from those who stray. The goal of you all is to Allah. It is He who will show you the truth of all that you do’ (5:105) ‘Allah has bound Himself to shower His blessings on those who believe in His Ayats and act accordingly.’ (6:54)
Quran is the only guidance we have to turn to; all other man-made standards are fallible and misleading. Only Allah knows what is true guidance. (28:85) And ‘Let nothing keep you back from the Ayats of Allah’ (28:87). Whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that never breaks’ (2:256)
The foremost message of the Quran in the form of an injunction is against those who fragment themselves into groups, sects, and schools of thought. Quran prohibits this: ‘As for those who divide their religion and break up into sects and groups, you have no part in them’ (6:159) ‘Those who split up their religion and become sects and groups — each group rejoicing in that which is with itself’. (30:32)
Unfortunately, after the early years of Islam, people injected their own concepts and beliefs into Islam and changed it from ‘Deen’ to ‘religion.’ Traditions gave birth to Shias, Sunnis, Ismailis, Ahle-Hadis, Wahabis, Ahle-Sunnat, Deobandis, Barelvis, etc. All these sects devised their own faith. In the garb of Islamic jurisprudence the Hanafis, Shaafais, Maalikis, Hanbalis, and Jafaris entered the fold of religion. When Pandora’s box was opened, there was no end. More sects, groups and sub-sects were born in the name of mysticism.
The Quran guides us in this respect and tells us that Islam is the Deen of our father Ibrahim and that ‘It is He who has named you Muslims’. (22:73) All religions of the world expect their followers to follow them blindly.
Islam is not a religion, but ‘Deen’ which lays down the relationship between man and Allah; the Quran gives the spiritual commandments and laws through which men can live in peace and harmony with himself and his fellow creatures. It leads to an inner awakening and more evaluated approach to values of life. Unlike other religions it does not negate the study of the laws of nature.
In fact, it encourages the search for truth amidst the grandeur, beauty and mystery of the universe; and to a greater understanding of the primordial force and authority which is responsible for we see and feel around us. Above all, we are never expected to follow the Quran blindly: ‘Now have come to you from your Lord, proofs (to open your eyes) if any will see it will be for the good of his own soul. (6:104) It has been sent for the convenience of the mankind: We have not sent down the Quran to you to be for your distress’. (20:2)
All over the world we find Muslims who claim that they believe in the Quran and yet we see them humiliated in more than one way. They are ruled, controlled, tortured, exploited, guided, ordered, and subjugated by non-Muslims. So, keeping Muslim names and professing to be followers of Islam and Quran without any practical manifestation and conviction will eventually place such people amongst those who deny the Quran and hence will never receive Allah’s mercy.
‘We sent down in the Quran that which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe and to the unjust nothing but loss after loss.’ (17:82) Those who believe in His message do so with strong faith and belief and for them Allah will fulfil His promise and He will provide for them a double portion of His mercy. (57:28)
The Quran is immutable and will remain in its original form till the last date. Western thinkers have even accepted this fact about Quran’s originality and infiniteness as compared to other books and religions. It contains simple, matter of fact and close to human nature concepts, which are appealing to inquisitive minds. They see the respect Quran gives to humanity: ‘We have honoured humanity as a whole.’ (17:70) It means that all humans are equal. The criteria of one’s position in society are determined by his deeds; And to all are assigned degrees according to their deeds” (46:19)