Appendix 2: An Introduction to Akhlaq (5)

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Truth or Life?

AL-LAH is both The True (Al-Haqq) and The Living (Al-Hayy). These two attributes complement and support one another. But in the mind of modern man a split has appeared between these two. Like the scientist, he may revere the truth, but it either has no relevance to his personal life, or he does not let it interfere.

This is what truth has come to mean for most people – a zone of sterility, professionalism, and precision, like a hospital, a research laboratory, or a microchip plant. Because it is so tidy, cold, and rigorous, modern man has come to believe in another, more intimate realm of ‘real life’, in which you do whatever you like. This is the raw and messy sector where ‘real-life’ decisions in business and politics are made, where people get laid, paid, married, and buried, where you have to be selfish and a little immoral if you want to survive and get ahead.

Modern man seems to have succeeded in creating a semi-legitimate underworld of freedom and irresponsibility, otherwise known as ‘reality’ or ‘life, while paying lip service to God, ‘the truth’, or ‘the greater good’. GOD may be true, but He has His Place in Heaven. Even Muslims tend to forget that He is also The Alive.

Secular Space

A world in which Truth is impersonal leads to two results, each of which feeds off the other. On the one hand are those for whom triumphant ‘rationality’ can finally be free of humane restraints. Here we find the gods of ‘market forces’, ‘free trade’, ‘efficiency’, ‘pro-choice’, ‘survival of the fittest’, and all the other glittering idols behind which naked selfishness – individual, corporate, or national – can hide. For these people, the world is full of competing, faceless forces, among which figure their own irrepressible desires. And there is nothing more.

On the other hand are those for whom the person, with a small ‘p’, is now supreme. He or she must rise above the dull, dark mass of Impersonal Truth into the light of individual will and freedom. Disease, old age, and death are still problems, but one need not submit to them. Rather freedom demands that one rebel against these and all other faceless forces, such as patriarchy, conventional morality, and traditional religion. New Age faith may dabble in ancient beliefs, but its real commitment is to ego-soaked slogans like ‘joy’, ‘love’, ‘creativity’, and even ‘rage’. The modern entertainment industry is full of this self-indulgent tripe, and today’s feminists, homosexuals, and assorted narcissists use it to justify their irrepressible desires. And there is nothing more.

The adoption of an Impersonal God, intentionally or unintentionally, produces an empty space in the centres of our souls. We can then trust Satan to find some catchy substitute, and a secular akhlaq to match.

Divine Presence

Muslims, fortunately, are capable of recognizing that what the secular world calls freedom is another form of slavery, and what they see as our blind subjection to the past is actually a dazzling and liberating view of an eternal future. Our future is with AL-LAH the Exalted. The better we get to know Him, the closer He comes to us, transforming our present by His Presence.

From Jami’it-Tirmidhi (Book 36, Hadith 75) we read:

And in another hadith, (Riyadus-Salihin, Hadith 368), we read:

In Q2:186, AL-LAH the Great and Glorious says:

This is an offer we must not refuse. Nothing is as certain to enhance right guidance, including good character, as a person’s nearness to AL-LAH. Our belief that closeness to Him cannot have that effect is self-fulfilling; it confirms our distance from Him, minimizes His influence on us, and reaffirms our faith in a secular space – a space where Truth and Personality never meet.

Slighting GOD

We are all guilty of treating AL-LAH as if we could excuse ourselves from Him or call for a time-out. Many of us find His Presence embarrassing, and wish He were away on other business from time to time. This attitude is particularly tempting when we enter the secular space of unbelievers and think that we must leave our own GOD-given space behind.

Even in exclusively Muslim settings this embarrassment shows. So often we hear, “Islam wants us to . . .” or “Islam says . . .” whereas “Islam” is only a verbal noun, a name describing an action. We see so little respect for Muslims, engaged in worship, who are conversing with AL-LAH. Discussions that can go on for hours when business, cars, food, clothes, or gossip are the topics grind down to an uncomfortable crawl when AL-LAH is mentioned. We claim He is our Dearest Friend, but only in lectures and sermons, and so consider reference to Him any other time to be “preaching”.

If this is the way we treat Him, no wonder His influence on our character appears so weak. The unbelievers are not ashamed to be seen following a dog around on a leash, but we dare to be ashamed (if I may use that strange expression) of following the One Who is constantly making new chains, new dogs, and new humans chained to dogs.

Not only do we slight GOD, we also manage to deface His creation. I do not refer here to the environmental crimes of Muslims, although in matters of conservation the Qur’an and Sunnah offer a clear case for Muslim leadership, not at all evident in practice so far. By defacing His creation, I mean ignoring the signs of His Care, Compassion, and delicate Craftsmanship in the world around us. GOD has habits, the so-called laws of nature, but none of them are laws obeyed by Him. Rather His Work is ceaseless and unimaginably detailed. Every speck of matter and iota of energy, according to modern physical theories, is constantly being destroyed and created anew, countless trillions of times every second.

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