The Nature of Disbelief
- From: "All praise is due to Allah Lord of the Worlds, the Owner of all of the creation" <almared_alarabi@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2007 06:03:47 -0700
Towards Understanding Islam
The Nature of Disbelief
In contrast to the man described above, there is the man who, although
a born Muslim and unconsciously remaining one throughout his life,
does not exercise his faculties of reason, intellect and intuition to
recognise his Lord and Creator and misuses his freedom of choice by
choosing to deny Him. Such a man becomes an unbeliever - in the
language of Islam a Kafir.
Kufr literally means 'to cover' or 'to conceal'. The man who denies
God is called Kafir (concealer) because he conceals by his disbelief'
what is inherent in his nature and embalmed in his own soul - for his
nature is instinctively imbued with Islam'. His whole body functions
in obedience to that instinct. Each and every particle of existence -
living or lifeless - functions in accordance with Islam' and is
fulfilling the duty that has been assigned to it. But the vision of
this man has been blurred, his intellect has been befogged, and he is
unable to see the obvious. His own nature has become concealed from
his eyes and he thinks and acts in utter disregard of it. Reality
becomes estranged from him and he gropes in the dark. Such is the
nature of Kufr.
Kufr is a form of ignorance, or, rather, it is ignorance. What
ignorance can be greater than to be ignorant of God, the Creator and
the Lord of the Universe? A man observes the vast panorama of nature,
the superb mechanism that is ceaselessly working, the grand design
that is manifest in every aspect of creation - he observes this vast
machine, but he does not know anything of its Maker and Director. He
knows what a wonderful organism his body is but is unable to
comprehend the Force that brought it into existence, the Engineer Who
designed and produced it, the Creator Who made the unique living being
out of lifeless stuff: carbon, calcium, sodium and the like. He
witnesses a superb plan in the universe - but fails to see the Planner
behind it. He sees great beauty and harmony in its working - but not
the Creator. He observes a wonderful design in nature - but not the
Designer! How can a man, who has so blinded himself to reality,
approach true knowledge? How can one who has made the wrong beginning
reach the right destination? He will fail to find the key to Reality.
The Right Path will remain concealed for him and whatever his
endeavours in science and arts, he will never be able to attain truth
and wisdom. He will be groping in the darkness of ignorance.
Not only that; Kufr is a tyranny, the worst of all tyrannies. And
what is 'tyranny'? It is an unjust use of force or power. It is when
you compel a thing to act unjustly or against its true nature, its
real will and its inherent attitude.
We have seen that all that is in the universe is obedient to God, the
Creator. To obey, to live in accordance with His Will and His Law or
(to put it more precisely) lo be a Muslim is ingrained in the nature
of things. God has given manpower over these things, but it is
incumbent that they should be used for the fulfillment of His Will and
not otherwise. Anyone who disobeys God and resorts to Kufr perpetrates
the greatest injustice, for he uses his powers of body and mind to
rebel against the course of nature and becomes an instrument in the
drama of disobedience. He bows his head before deities other than God
and cherishes in his heart the love, reverence and fear of other
powers in utter disregard of the instinctive urge of these organs. He
uses his own powers and all those things over which he has authority
against the explicit Will of God and thus establishes a reign of
tyranny.
Can there be any greater injustice, tyranny and cruelty than that
exhibited by this man who exploits and misuses everything under the
sun and unscrupulously forces them to a course, which affronts nature
and justice?
Kufr is not mere tyranny; it is rebellion, ingratitude and
infidelity. After all what is the reality of man? Where do his power
and authority come from? Is he himself the creator of his mind, his
heart, his soul and other organs of his body - or have they been
created by God? Has he himself created the universe and all that is in
it-or has it been created by God? Who has harnessed all the powers and
energies for the service of man - man or God? If everything has been
created by God and God alone, then to whom do they belong? Who is
their rightful sovereign? It is God and none else. And if God is the
Creator, the Master and the Sovereign, then who would be a greater
rebel than the man who uses God's creation against His injunctions -
and who makes his mind think against God. harbours in his heart
thoughts against Him, and uses his various faculties against the
Sovereign's Will.
If a servant betrays his master you denounce him as faithless. If an
officer becomes disloyal to the state you brand him as a traitor and
renegade. If a person cheats his benefactor you have no hesitation in
condemning him as ungrateful. But such acts cannot begin to compare to
the one, which the disbeliever commits by his Kufr. All that a man has
and all that he uses for the benefit of others is a gift of God. The
greatest obligation that a man owes on this earth is to his parents.
But who has implanted the love of children in the parents' heart? Who
endowed the mother with the will and power to nurture, nourish and
feed her children? Who inspired the parents with the passion to spend
everything in their possession for the well being of their children? A
little reflection would reveal that God is the greatest benefactor of
man. He is his Creator, Lord, Nourisher, Sustainer, as well as King
and Sovereign. So what can be greater betrayal, ingratitude, rebellion
and treason than Kufr, through which a man denies and disobeys his
real Lord and Sovereign?
Do not think that by committing Kufr man does or can do the least
harm to Almighty God. Insignificant speck on the face of a tiny ball
in this limitless universe that man is, what harm can he do to the
Lord of the Universe Whose dominions are so infinitely vast that we
have not yet been able to explore their boundaries even with the help
of the most powerful telescope; Whose power is so great that myriads
of heavenly bodies, like the Earth, the Moon, the Sun and the stars
are, at His bidding, whirling like tiny balls; Whose wealth is so
boundless that He is the sole Master of the whole universe: and Who
provides for all and needs none to provide for Him? Man's revolt
against Him can do Him no harm: on the other hand, by his
disobedience, man treads the path of ruin and disgrace.
The inevitable consequence of this revolt and denial of reality is a
failure in the ultimate ideals of life. Such a rebel will never find
the thread of real knowledge and vision; for knowledge that fails to
reveal its own Creator can reveal no truth. Such a man's intellect and
reason always run astray; for reason which errs about its own Creator
cannot illumine the paths of life.
Such a man will meet with failures in all the affairs of his life.
His morality, his civic and social life, his struggle for livelihood
and his family life, in short, his entire existence, will be
unsatisfactory. He will spread confusion and disorder. He will,
without the least compunction, shed blood, violate other men's rights
and generally act destructively. His perverted thoughts and ambitions,
his blurred vision and distorted scale of values, and his evil
activities will make life bitter for him and for all around him.
Such a man destroys the calm and pose of life on earth. And in the
life hereafter he will be held guilty for the crimes he committed
against his nature. Every organ of his body - his brain, eyes, nose,
hands and feet - will complain against the injustice and cruelty he
had subjected them to. Every tissue of his being will denounce him
before God Who, as the fountain of justice, will punish him as he
deserves. This is the inglorious consequence of Kufr. It leads to the
blind alleys of utter failure, both here and hereafter.
http://www.al-islamforall.org/litre/englitre/Undislam.htm
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