Effects of
Tawhid on Human Life
Abul A'La Mawdudi, Towards
Understanding Islam
Now let us study the effects which the belief in La ilaha
illallah has on the life of a man and see why he should
always make a success of life and why one who denies it becomes
a failure in life, both here and in the hereafter.
- A believer in this Kalimah can never be narrow in
outlook. He believes in a God Who is the Creator of the
heavens and the earth, the Master of the East and the West and
Sustainer of the entire universe. After this belief he does
not regard anything in the world as a stranger to himself. He
looks on everything in the universe as belonging to the same
Lord he himself belongs to. His sympathy, love and service are
not confined to any particular sphere or group. His vision is
enlarged, his intellectual horizon widens, and his outlook
becomes as liberal and as boundless as is the Kingdom of God.
How can this width of vision and breadth of mind be achieved
by an atheist, a polytheist or one who believes in a deity
supposed to possess limited and defective powers like a man?
- This belief produces in man the highest degree of
self-respect and self esteem. The believer knows that Allah
alone is the Possessor of all power, and that none besides Him
can benefit or harm a person, or provide for his needs, or
give and take away life or wield authority or influence. This
conviction makes him indifferent to, and independent and
fearless of, all powers other than those of God. He never bows
his head in homage to any of God's creatures, nor does he
stretch out his hand before anyone else. He is not overawed by
anybody's greatness. This attitude of mind cannot be produced
by any other belief. For it is necessary that those who
associate other beings with God, or who deny God, should bow
in homage to some creatures, regard them able to benefit or
harm them, fear them and place their hopes in them.
- Along with self-respect this belief also generates in man
a sense of modesty and humbleness. It makes him unostentatious
and unpretending. A believer never becomes proud, haughty or
arrogant. The boisterous pride of power, wealth and worth can
have no room in his heart, because he knows that whatever he
possesses has been given to him by God, and that God can take
away just as He can give. In contrast to this, an unbeliever,
when he achieves some worldly merit, becomes proud and
conceited because he believes that his merit is due to his own
worth. In the same way pride and self-conceit are a necessary
outcome and concomitant of shirk (association of
others with God in His divinity), because a mushrik
believes that he has a particular relation with the deities
which does not exist between them and other people.
- This belief makes man virtuous and upright. He has the
conviction that there is no other means of success and
salvation for him except purity of soul and righteousness of
behaviour. He has perfect faith in God Who is above all need,
is related to none and is absolutely just. This belief creates
in him the consciousness that, unless he lives rightly and
acts justly, he cannot succeed. No influence or underhand
activity can save him from ruin. As against this, the
kafirs and the mushriks always live on false
hopes. Some of them believe that God's son has atoned for
their sins; some think that they are God's favourites, and
will not be punished; others believe that their saints will
intercede with God on their behalf; while others make
offerings to their deities and believe that by so bribing the
deities they acquire a licence to do whatever they like. Such
false beliefs keep them enmeshed in sin and evil deeds;
depending on their deities, they do not bother about their
souls and living pure and good lives. As to atheists, they do
not believe that there is any Being having power over them, to
Whom they should be responsible for their good or bad actions;
therefore they consider themselves independent to act in
whatever way they like. Their own fancies become their gods
and they live like slaves of their wishes and desires.
- The believer never becomes despondent. He has a firm faith
in God Who is Master of all the treasures of the earth and the
heavens, Whose grace and bounty have no limit and Whose powers
are infinite. This faith imparts to his heart extraordinary
consolation, fills it with satisfaction and keeps it filled
with hope. Although he may meet with rejection from all sides
in this world, faith in and dependence on God never leave him,
and on their strength he goes on struggling. Such profound
confidence can result from no other belief than belief in one
God. Mushriks, kafirs and atheists have
small hearts; they depend on limited powers; therefore in
times of trouble they are soon overwhelmed by despair and,
frequently, they commit suicide.
- This belief produces in man a very strong degree of
determination, patient perseverance and trust in God. When he
makes up his mind and devotes his resources to fulfilling the
Divine Commands in order to secure God's pleasure, he is sure
that he has the support and backing of the Lord of the
universe. This certainty makes him firm and strong like a
mountain, and no amount of difficulties, impediments and
opposition can make him give up his resolution. Shirk,
kufr and atheism have no such effect.
- This declaration inspires bravery in man. There are two
things which make a man cowardly: (i) fear of death and love
of safety, and (ii) the idea that there is someone else
besides God who can take away life and that man, by adopting
certain devices, can ward off death. Belief in La ilaha
illallah purges the mind of both these ideas. The first
idea goes out of his mind because he knows that his life and
his property and everything else really belong to God, and he
becomes ready to sacrifice his all for His pleasure. He gets
rid of the second idea because he knows that no weapon, no man
or animal has the power of taking away his life; God alone has
the power to do so. A time has been ordained for him, and all
the forces of the world combined cannot take away anyone's
life before that time. It is for this reason that no one is
braver than the one who has faith in God. Nothing can daunt
him: not even the strongest tempest of adversity and the
mightiest of armies. Where can the mushriks, the
kafirs and the atheists get such great determination,
force and power from? They hold life the dearest thing in the
world; they believe that death is brought about by the enemy
and can be warded off by running away from him!
- The belief in La ilaha illallah creates an
attitude of peace and contentment, purges the mind of
jealousy, envy and greed and keeps away the temptations of
resorting to base and unfair means for achieving success. The
believer understands that wealth is in God's hands, and He
apportions it out as He likes; that honour, power, reputation
and authority - everything - is subjected to His will, and He
bestows them as He will; and that man's duty is only to
endeavour and to struggle fairly. He knows that success and
failure depend on God's grace; if He wills to give, no power
in the world can prevent Him from so doing; and if He does not
will it, no power can force Him to. On the other hand, the
mushriks, the kafirs and the atheists consider
success and failure as dependent on their own efforts and the
help or opposition of earthly powers. Therefore, they always
remain slaves to cupidity and envy. They never hesitate to
turn to bribery, flattery, conspiracy and other kinds of base
and unfair means to achieve their ends. Jealousy and envy of
others success eat them away, and they will stop at nothing to
bring about the downfall of a successful rival.
- The most important effect of La ilaha illallah is
that it makes man obey and observe God's Law. One who has
belief in it is sure that God knows everything hidden or open
and is nearer to him than his own jugular vein. If he commits
a sin in a secluded corner and in the darkness of night, He
knows it; He even knows our thoughts and intentions, bad or
good. We can hide from everyone, but we cannot hide anything
from God; we can evade everyone, but it is impossible to evade
God's grip. The firmer a man's belief in this respect, the
more observant will he be of God's commands; he will shun what
God has forbidden and he will carry out His behests even in
solitude and in darkness, because he knows that God's 'police'
never leaves him alone, and he dreads the Court whose warrant
he can never avoid. It is for this reason that the first and
the most important conditions for being a Muslim is to have
faith in La ilaha illallah. 'Muslim', as you have
already been told, means one 'obedient to God' and obedience
to God is impossible unless one firmly believes in La
ilaha illallah.
In the teachings of Muhammad (blessings of Allah and peace be
upon him) faith in One God is the most important and fundamental
principle. It is the bedrock of Islam and the mainspring of its
power. All other beliefs, commands and laws of Islam stand firm
on this foundation. All of them receive strength from this
source. Take it away, and there is nothing left of Islam.
To have an idea of what a harrowing
situation this despair of heart can create, the reader is
referred to the thought-provoking study of modern life by Mr.
Colin Wilson: The Outsider (11th impression. London
1957).
The testimony of Prof. Joad is also very explicit on this
point. He writes about the West: "For the first time in
history there is coming to maturity a generation or men and
women who have no religion, and feel no need for one. They are
content to ignore it. Also they are very unhappy, and the
suicide rate is abnormally high." (C. E. M. Joad. The
Present and Future of Religion, quoted by Sir Arnold Lunn.,
And Yet So New, London, 1958, p. 228).
As to the world of Islam. let the views of a non-Muslim
historian not in any way sympathetic to Islam, be read with
profit: "In this uncompromising monotheism. with its simple,
enthusiastic faith in the supreme rule of a transcendent
being, lies the chief strength of Islam. Its adherents enjoy a
consciousness of contentment and resignation unknown among
followers of most creeds." "Suicide Is Rare in Muslim
Lands" (Phillip K. Hitti, History of the Arabs,
1951, p.129).
index |
Back
|
