SPIRIT OF ISLAM AUGUST 2O13

32 Spirit of Islam Issue 8 August 2013 new and superior solutions to problems. It should, by opening every closed door of life, manage to reach the desired goals. Nothing should prove to be an impediment in its way. These are the qualities which have been described in the Quran (Chapter 4, AI-Qalam) as ‘superior character’ ( Khulq-e-Azeem ). It is people who are broad-minded and noble in character who perform the greatest tasks in this world. In this world it is a law of nature that people of ordinary character perform everyday tasks and people of high character perform great tasks. A truly creative group is one which is free from a negative mode of thinking and looks at matters from a positive view-point. The gift of God bestowed on the people of Islam in the shape of religion is not the property of any one group. It is the common asset of the whole of humanity. Passing on this wealth to other people is the fulfilment of a Divine Trust. And it is solely in this spirit that this task can be properly performed. History shows that the people of ancient times could not make any real progress in the field of knowledge, culture or civilization for thousands of years. All notable development started after the advent of Islam. The world of those days was bogged down in the worship of God’s creations. The people of Islam raised it above the worship of creation and showed the way of the worship of the Creator. People used to treat the phenomena of nature as holy and imagined that it was sufficient to offer obeisance and homage to them. Islam put an end to such misconceptions and opened the door to harnessing nature for human needs. People had given wealth and power the position of a deity and considered them their everything. The people of Islam put wealth and power on the list of man’s needs and services and thus exalted man’s position. People at that time were immersed in different types of superstitions due to beliefs based on false presumptions. The adherents of Islam pulled them out of baseless presumptions and superstitions and made them come to grips with realities. For details, see the author’s book Islam the Creator of the Modern Age.